


I Choose You

by Halmaithor



Series: Our Hearts are True [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: (eventually. They'll get there lol), (he's okay tho), Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, Doctor Magnus Bane, Feelings, Firefighter Alec Lightwood, Fluff, Getting Together, Light Angst, M/M, Major Character Injury, Mutual Pining, Scientist Magnus Bane, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, also meliorn is there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:15:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22443925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halmaithor/pseuds/Halmaithor
Summary: The Eevee tucks its face into the crook of his elbow, and stops crying. Alec breathes a sigh of relief.Dr Bane laughs. ‘She seems to have imprinted on you.’When Alec Lightwood rescues a Pokémon egg from the Alicante Lab, he and his newly-hatched, imprinted Eevee wind up as test subjects for Dr Magnus Bane.Considering that the study focuses on the bond between people and Pokémon, there's a surprising amount of chemistry involved.
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Isabelle Lightwood, Alec Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane & Ragnor Fell, Magnus Bane & Raphael Santiago, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, past Magnus Bane/Camille Belcourt - Relationship
Series: Our Hearts are True [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2156586
Comments: 94
Kudos: 249
Collections: Shadowhunters Fic-A-Thon 2020





	1. The (e)Eve(e) of Something Special

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ColorfulWarlock](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColorfulWarlock/gifts).



> (I make ZERO apologies for the title, the chemistry joke, and any other jokes going forward.)
> 
> OKAY SO. What happens when my Shadowhunters phase overlaps with a return to my Pokémon phase? Well, first, I have lovely conversations with ColorfulWarlock, and then apparently... this. 
> 
> I hope to update this at least once a week.  
> Please enjoy! <3
> 
> EDIT 27th June 2020: If you're thinking 'Wait, wasn't Alec a cop in this?'  
> He was, but my general opinion of the police has changed drastically in the last few weeks, and I felt uncomfortable leaving this up unchecked. So, I would like to apologise for my previous unwitting contribution to copaganda, and I have now edited out the cop-specific details of this story and replaced them with firefighter-specific details. The story is still the same - only Alec's job has changed. I hope you enjoy this updated version. <3

‘Herringway, Simmonds! Make your way to the back of the building and assist the Prinplup division,’ Chief Janet orders. ‘Blackall and Underhill, evacuate Section A before the fire spreads to there; Lightwood and Herondale, you take Section B. Understood?’  
‘Yes, ma’am!’ comes the chorus of responses.  
Alec and Jace jog over to the eastern side of the building, where the smell of smoke is only just beginning to fill the air, and head inside.

The first corridor and the rooms off of it are all empty, and they don’t get any further than that before there’s a fork in their path. ‘You and Klaus take left, we’ll take right,’ Alec says.  
Jace nods, gesturing for Klaus to scout ahead. ‘Be careful,’ he says to Alec, before following his Altaria down the left-hand corridor.

Alec turns right, holding out his arm for Shadow to land briefly. ‘Stay behind me, and double-check the darker rooms so I don’t miss anything. Got it?’ The Staraptor caws his acquiescence, and they head down the corridor together.  
It doesn’t take long for them to clear the rooms on either side of that second corridor, finding no-one. The alarm has been blaring for several minutes, and most of the scientists have cleared out.

But not all of them. At the very end of the hallway, Alec opens the door to the main lab of Section B, and finds a tall man with a shock of dark, spiked-up hair. ‘Sir, I’m with the fire department. You have to evacuate,’ Alec begins.  
‘I know, I know,’ the man mutters, clearly agitated, but he doesn’t turn from the cabinet he’s trying to unlock. ‘Casper! Lila!’ he calls. ‘You two get out of here. I’ll be right behind you.’  
A Haunter and an Espeon appear from out of thin air and around a lab bench respectively, darting past Alec. The Haunter’s hands are full of paperwork, and the faint glow of telekinetic energy surrounds the Pokéballs hovering above the Espeon’s tail.

But the man himself still doesn’t move, just reaches into the now-open cabinet, and Alec approaches him, laying a hand on his shoulder. Around them, the alarm continues to blare. ‘Sir, we have to evacuate, _now-’_  
The man whirls around, pushing something large and round into Alec’s arms. ‘Here, take this,’ he orders, and when he looks down Alec realises that it’s a brown and white Pokémon egg – one of three that must have been locked inside the cabinet. Seemingly satisfied, the man picks up the last egg with his freed hand, moves past Alec and jogs out of the lab. ‘Alright, come on, then!’ he calls.

Shadow lands on Alec’s shoulder, thereby confirming that everywhere is empty, and so Alec follows.

Outside, Klaus glides over and circles Alec’s head twice, a signal that confirms he and Jace didn’t run into any trouble. Shadow takes off, following Klaus back to wherever Jace is to return the assurance.

Alec spots a familiar head of spiky hair, and heads over to where several of the evacuees are congregated.  
‘- soon as the alarm started going off, you moron,’ one man is saying, fury written across his brow.  
But the man that gave Alec the egg just rolls his eyes. ‘What was I supposed to do, Raphael? Just leave them behind to burn up?’  
‘You’re lucky _you_ didn’t burn up.’  
‘That’s right, I didn’t, and neither did any of the Pokémon _or_ the most important records, so I don’t see what the problem is. Speaking of – ‘ The man glances around, and when his eyes alight on Alec standing a few feet away, he smiles. ‘A-ha! There you are. Please excuse the foul temper of Dr Santiago here – he tends to get cranky when Professor Fell leaves him in charge. Especially when that means the lab nearly burns down on his watch.’ The man doesn’t move his gaze from Alec, but manages to deftly sidestep a swift kick from Dr Santiago anyway.

‘Is everyone okay over here? Any injuries?’ Alec asks.  
‘Not until later, when I plan to punch Dr Bane right in his stupid goatee,’ Dr Santiago says pleasantly, earning himself another eye roll.  
Alec elects to focus on the message of _no, no-one’s injured,_ ignoring the extra information. Someone here has to retain a professional air. ‘Alright, good. I have to check in with the chief, so if I could just – ‘ He shifts the egg in his grasp, intending to pass it to Dr Santiago.

There’s a loud, definitive crack, and a huge section of the shell falls away.

Alec stares at the tiny face now looking out at him through the hole, transfixed. One paw pushes out, breaking away yet more of the shell; and then a short snout, two huge ears, a scraggly mane -  
Mere moments later, Alec isn’t holding an egg at all. The baby Eevee stares up at him with wide eyes, and makes a happy chirruping noise.  
‘Uh,’ he says, intelligently. ‘Hi.’

Shadow’s return to his shoulder snaps him out of his daze, and he blinks himself back to the present moment. ‘Okay, well, here you go. I believe this is yours.’ He hands the Eevee over to Dr Santiago.

It immediately starts mewling in distress, clambering away from him, reaching for Alec again – and the moment Alec realises that last part, he practically snatches the Eevee back. ‘Woah, hey, hey. It’s okay,’ he soothes.   
The Eevee tucks its face into the crook of his elbow, and stops crying. Alec breathes a sigh of relief.

Dr Bane laughs, and Alec glances up at him. ‘I think she might have something to say about that,’ he says. ‘She seems to have imprinted on you.’  
‘Imprinted?’  
Dr Bane nods. The movement shifts the sunlight in his eyes, making them appear almost golden for a moment. ‘It’s fairly common among certain Pokémon – Eevee being one of them. It’s actually my field of study. The three eggs we rescued from the lab were all intended as test subjects, to be bonded to various people and that bond examined as they grow.’

Alec looks down at the Eevee, reaching up to gently pet the scruff around her neck. She shifts in his arms, letting out another little chirrup. ‘So what do I do? I mean, I’d give her back, but…’  
‘But she clearly wasn’t the biggest fan of that plan,’ Dr Bane agrees. ‘As long as you’re in a position to care for her, I think it would just put her under unnecessary stress to try and separate the two of you. Would you be willing to take on that responsibility? I’m sure the day-care center would be happy to help, should you run into any complications.’

Alec frowns, weighing his options. He raised Shadow from a fairly young Starly chick, but he’s never cared for an Eevee before, nor anything like it. And one thing he does know is that baby Pokémon require almost constant supervision, which isn’t ideal for a busy firefighter who lives alone.  
But when he looks down at the Eevee, all he can think of is that cry of distress when he tried to give her away, and logic quickly flies out of the window. ‘Yeah, okay,’ he says, ignoring the mental image of Izzy laughing and calling him a sap. ‘I’ll take her. Sorry to interfere with your experiment.’

‘Who says you have?’ asks Dr Bane, one manicured hand coming up to scratch the Eevee behind her ears. ‘Maybe you weren’t the intended recipient, but the imprint seems to have properly formed. I could always study the two of you, if you’d agree to it.’  
‘What would that entail?’ asks Alec.  
‘Ideally, we’ll have a weekly check-in, lasting about ninety minutes. I’ll ask for your impression of how you two have been getting on, and then run a couple of tests to see if and how the imprint affects behaviour.’

Alec considers it for a moment. ‘My schedule’s pretty variable for most of the week, but I always have Thursdays off,’ he suggests.  
Dr Bane nods appreciatively. ‘Excellent. That sounds perfect, Mr…’  
‘Lightwood. You can call me Alec.’  
‘Magnus.’ The doctor beams, and Alec finds himself returning it. ‘Well then, I guess I’ll see you on Thursday, Alec.’


	2. Thursday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Eevee settles in, and the experiment begins.

Alec visits the Pokémon Center as soon as he’s dismissed from the scene, and while Shadow’s lungs are being checked over – Staraptors are naturally resistant to smoke inhalation, but it’s procedure to check for damage after attending each call - he asks for the Eevee to receive a quick check-up, too.

He runs into a snag almost immediately, when Nurse Joy says, ‘And what’s her name?’  
‘Uh,’ he says, ‘she… doesn’t have one. I mean, I’m going to give her one, of course, but she – she only hatched about an hour ago. So, I haven’t-‘  
Nurse Joy cuts him off with a soft chuckle. ‘I see. It’s early days, hm? No need to worry, I’ll just put her down as ‘Eevee Lightwood’ for now.’

The Eevee lets Nurse Joy examine her, providing Alec stays in sight. She’s given a clean bill of health – as is Shadow – and as Alec’s leaving, a helpful Chansey hands him a few pamphlets on what to feed very young Pokémon to ensure they have the best start. ‘Thanks,’ he says – and perhaps he’s reading too much into all this, but the way the Chansey smiles at him is oddly reassuring.

That evening, he prepares the Eevee’s dinner – it’s almost identical to what Shadow’s having, only without the sitrus berries as they’re apparently too rich for younger stomachs – and then sits at the table with his leftover chilli, trying out names. ‘What about… Cheri? Like the berry?’ He wrinkles his nose in distaste. No, that’s stupid. Besides, something beginning with an E would probably be nice, wouldn’t it? Evie – or even Eve – is probably a little on-the-nose, though. ‘Hm. Ember? Ugh, no, that’s gonna be a nightmare if you evolve into anything except a Flareon. Or actually, if you DO, because that’s a move, too, isn’t it?’

They all sit quietly for a while, finishing their meals. ‘How about Ellie? No, it’s not quite – Eliza?’  
A lightbulb seems to turn on. ‘Elsa,’ he says, smiling at the way it rolls off the tongue. ‘Elsa. What do you think, hm?’ He gets up from the table, crouching down to collect the other empty dishes, and pausing to pet the Eevee. ‘What do you think, sweetheart? You like the name Elsa? I think it suits you.’  
The Eevee – Elsa – purrs a little in contentment, and Alec takes that as a yes.

Once dinner is cleared away, Alec gathers Elsa up in his arms, settling with her on the couch. ‘Okay,’ he says seriously. ‘Chief Janet is already on board with me bringing you to work, as long as it doesn’t disrupt anything. But when we’re out on a call, you’re gonna need a safe place to wait it out. That’s where this comes in.’ He holds up an empty Pokéball, and Elsa sniffs it curiously. ‘It’s a Pokéball. It’s like… a little room for you to hide out in. Watch this – Shadow, return.’ Across the room, Shadow obligingly struts over to his Pokéball, taps the button with his beak, and disappears in a low flash of red light. Elsa gives a chirp of surprise, staring wide-eyed as Shadow reappears a second later. ‘See?’ Alec says. ‘Nothing to be scared of. Give it a try, okay?’  
He holds out the Pokéball, and this time, Elsa taps it with her nose. After a few tries, she hits the button, disappearing into that same red glow and re-emerging a few seconds later.

They keep at it for a good while. Alec says ‘return’ every time she taps the button, and calls Elsa’s name every time she reappears, immediately praising her once she rematerializes. She seems to get the hang of it remarkably quickly, responding to ‘Elsa’ and ‘return’ as commands rather than just disappearing and reappearing on a whim. After that, the rest of the evening is just practice, gradually building up the time she spends in the Pokéball.  
Eventually, she emerges from the red light and rather than her usual chirrup of greeting, she gives a huge yawn. Alec glances up at the clock, eyebrows flickering upwards in surprise. No wonder Shadow’s put himself to bed, fluttering up to his high roosting perch by the fireplace. ‘Shit, how’d it get so late, huh? Good call, Elsa. That’s enough for today.’

He grabs the comfiest cushion from the couch, carries it through to his bedroom, and places it at the foot of his bed. ‘Here,’ he says, putting Elsa down on the makeshift bed, and she promptly curls up and goes to sleep. Alec’s suddenly very grateful that he lives alone, because he’s sure his expression is _ridiculously_ fond right now.

He wanders around a few minutes longer, preparing for the next day and brushing his teeth, before he slips under the covers and falls asleep too.

When he wakes the next morning, he finds that Elsa has clambered up onto his bed and wormed her way into the crook of his elbow, and is now stretched out along his side, belly-up.  
He chuckles. ‘Okay, zero points for obedience, and two – max – for appreciation of your own bed,’ he says softly. Perhaps he ought to mean it as a reprimand, but it just comes out resigned.  
Somehow, he can’t bring himself to mind all that much.

***

The next few days are surprisingly ordinary, all things considered. He’d worried that Elsa may be overly excitable at the station, but it turns out that the lengthy walk to work mostly tuckers her out, and she’s usually then content to nap under Alec’s desk – with the occasional break to sit in his lap and receive pettings – until his and Jace’s lunch break.  
Izzy stops by to join them for lunch on three out of the four days. She makes a huge fuss of Elsa, who preens at the attention, and then they all sit in the station’s garden to eat their sandwiches. Izzy spends the whole time watching Klaus, Shadow and Quicksilver – her Crobat – chase Elsa around, swooping down on her from above and flying in huge circles as she runs beside their shadows.  
‘You know, Alec,’ Jace says, conversationally, ‘I’m starting to think we’re not the main draw for Izzy to join us at these lunches.’  
‘Really?’ Alec drawls. ‘What makes you think that?’

Izzy rolls her eyes. ‘Oh, shut up. I’ll come see my baby niece if I want to. She’s far more entertaining than either of you idiots.’

Thursday morning starts the same as all the others, but as Alec walks past the turning that leads to the station, heading for Alicante Laboratories instead, he’s surprised to find a small swell of apprehension building in his gut. That’s normal, he supposes. He’s never been part of a scientific study before. But Dr Bane – Magnus – seems nice, if a little eccentric, and pleasant company’s usually half the battle during a new experience.

He’s carrying Elsa – he didn’t want the walk to tire her out before any activities that may be awaiting them in the lab – and so he feels her start a little when the automatic doors _whoosh_ open. ‘It’s alright,’ he murmurs, scritching the top of her head until he feels her settle again, looking around in curiosity instead of alarm.

He approaches the front desk, where a receptionist with long hair in an elegant updo looks up from their computer, a polite enquiry on their face.  
‘Hi,’ Alec says. ‘I believe Dr Bane is expecting me? I’m Alec Lightwood, I’m taking part in his imprinting study.’  
The receptionist nods, gesturing over to the comfortable-looking chairs by the entrance. ‘Alright, wonderful. If you want to go take a seat, I’ll let Dr Bane know you’re here.’

Alec wanders over to the nearest chair, placing Elsa on the ground before he takes a seat. There’s one of those bead mazes on the low table in front of him, similar to the one he and his siblings used to play with in the doctor’s waiting room when they were young, each of them picking a different colour of wire and then racing each other to see who could get their beads to the other side fastest. Elsa places one front paw up on the table, batting curiously at some of the beads with the other.

‘Alexander!’ he hears, and he stands up, turning around to see a familiar figure walking towards him.  
He smiles, holding out his hand. ‘Dr Bane, lovely to see you again.’  
‘Magnus, please,’ the doctor says, taking his hand in a firm shake, briefly laying his other hand over the top before letting go. His gaze must flick to Elsa, then, because he looks past Alec and his eyes light up, the effect doubled by the neat eyeliner he wears. ‘And how are you, little one?’ he croons, crouching down and reaching out to Elsa, who leans into his hand contentedly for petting. Magnus stands, smiling appreciatively at Alec. ‘She’s looking well. You’ve obviously been taking good care of her.’  
‘Thank you,’ Alec says, hoping his cheeks don’t pinken at the unexpected praise.

‘Right. If you’ll follow me – oh, Meliorn, could you sign them in? Thank you.’ he calls over to the receptionist, before turning back to Alec. ‘Right this way, then.’

‘Alright, excellent,’ Magnus says, pressing the last few keys on his computer with something of a flourish. ‘That about wraps up the verbal assessment. Thank you.’  
‘No problem,’ Alec says with a smile, and means it. He’s generally a very private person – usually, only his siblings are able to wheedle any personal thoughts out of him – but he’s pleasantly surprised by how easy Magnus is to talk to. The conversation had started out like he was dictating a field report after a call, but had quickly relaxed into something more casual, Magnus chuckling at some of his anecdotes and Alec feeling inordinately pleased with himself whenever he did.

Magnus stands. ‘So. The next part will take place next door. If you’ll come have a look at the set-up,’ he says, motioning for Alec to follow him. They wander over to the window embedded in the office wall, and Alec peers through into what looks like a small school gymnasium, with battle arena lines drawn on the floor in pristine white paint and a row of seating on the right hand side. In the center of the room is a tall punching bag, secured to the floor by suction cups and connected to the ceiling by a thin cable. ‘The next assessment is a strength test of sorts,’ Magnus explains. ‘First, I’ll take Elsa through and ask her to use _quick attack_ on the punching bag, whilst you stay out here and observe. This is one-way glass, and the room is hermetically sealed and soundproof, so we’ll be able to see how she behaves during your brief separation. Alright?’

Alec hesitates a moment. ‘I mean, that makes sense, but this is the first time in her life we’ll be separated,’ he warns. ‘We haven’t really started working on that yet. So I’m not sure how she’ll react.’  
‘That’s okay,’ Magnus placates, gently patting Alec’s arm in reassurance. ‘It won’t be too long, and if she becomes distressed we’ll call it off for today. Besides,’ he adds, stooping down to gather Elsa in his arms, ‘it’s not like I’m a stranger. She’s fairly comfortable with me.’ Elsa purrs a little, as if in agreement, and when Alec nods his acquiescence he’s met with a blinding smile he can’t help but return.

The two of them go through into the gym, and the door shuts with a quiet _hiss_ and a dull _thunk_ as the hermetic seal activates. Magnus puts Elsa down, and she immediately heads for the door, staring at it confusedly. After a few seconds, she raises a paw and bats at it, and gives a quiet chirrup that comes out of the tinny speaker above the glass. She chirps a few more times, growing a little louder and more insistent, mewling a little. Alec’s suddenly very glad the glass is one-way, because whatever his facial expression is doing in response to Elsa calling out for him, he’s pretty sure it isn’t very dignified.

‘Elsa!’ Magnus calls brightly. ‘Hey, come on – what’s this?’ It takes a few more seconds, but Elsa trudges over to join Magnus by the punching bag. ‘Do you know _quick attack,_ munchkin? Do you think you could show me? I’d really appreciate it.’

It’s a little half-hearted – Alec has _definitely_ seen her use that move more forcefully when she and Shadow are roughhousing – but nonetheless, Elsa obliges, and the punching bag rocks back and forth before settling.

Magnus continues in this way for another few minutes, heaping on the praise every time Elsa hits the bag (‘Wow, you’ve learned a lot since I last saw you, huh? Oh – that hit was much bigger, you’re working so hard!’), until Elsa seems to settle into the rhythm of the game, not even waiting for the bag to stop swinging before going in for another attack.

Eventually, Magnus steps forward, crouching down to scruff Elsa behind the ears. ‘Thank you, munchkin, that was really helpful. How about we go see Alexander and get you a drink of water?’  
He hasn’t even finished the word _Alexander_ before Elsa is bounding towards the door, barking excitedly. Magnus chuckles, and Alec’s heart warms.

Elsa barrels through the door as soon as it opens, leaping up into Alec’s arms before he even has a chance to crouch down to her instead. ‘Hey. You did so good,’ he says, stifling a laugh as she nuzzles against his chin.  
‘Here,’ Magnus says, and Alec looks over to see him placing down a shallow dish of water, an amused twinkle in his eye. ‘We’ll give her a few minutes to get her breath back, and then we’ll move on to the next stage.’ He moves over to his computer again, and makes a few more notes.

There’s a total of three stages, it turns out. In the second, Alec takes a turn directing Elsa to attack the punching bag, whilst Magnus presumably observes through the glass. In the third – after another quick water break – Alec takes a seat at the side of the battle court, watching on as Magnus takes over again.

When Magnus finally declares that they’re done for the day, they all head back into his office, and he retrieves an oran berry from the second drawer down in his desk. ‘Here you go,’ he says, tossing it to Elsa, and she leaps up to catch it, munching eagerly. ‘I’d offer you one, Alec, but Professor Fell’s already breathing down my neck about “respecting the damned budget cuts”.’  
Alec nods solemnly. ‘I understand completely. After all, it starts with a berry, but it’s a slippery slope. What’s next, a paperclip? A pen? Who knows what loot I could wander out of here with?’  
Magnus laughs, and Alec gives up on trying to keep his face serious. ‘Alright, well,’ Magnus says, his smile gentling a little, ‘thank you for today. Same time next week?’  
‘I look forward to it,’ says Alec.

When he leaves, he finds himself frowning, a little confused, because he wasn’t expecting to mean that as sincerely as he does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please do let me know what you thought! <3


	3. Mazes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter today. Easing back into things after being pretty oneshot-focused recently. ^^

On Wednesday evening, Alec receives a text.

_Alexander,_

_Please wear a dark-coloured scarf to our meeting tomorrow._

_\- Magnus_

**Sure thing. See you then.**

**\- Alec**

When he arrives at the lab the next day, Magnus is waiting for him in reception, and wearing a burgundy scarf of his own. ‘Alexander, perfect timing. Right this way.’ He starts heading down the corridor, a spring in his step, only pausing to briefly pet Elsa when she scurries up to him. ‘Thank you for remembering the scarf,’ he continues, glancing over his shoulder. ‘I realised I forgot to mention it at the end of our first session. I did visit the station, to tell you in person, but apparently I’d just missed you. Fortunately, one of your colleagues – Underhill, was it? – gave me your number. I hope you don’t mind.’

‘No, it’s fine,’ Alec says. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t be thrilled at someone giving out his number without his say-so; but he’s mentioned the experiment to Underhill, and he trusts him to have done his due diligence, making sure Magnus was who he claimed to be before offering up any info.

Magnus holds the door open, and they enter his office. ‘Feel free to hang up your coat, but if you could leave the scarf on, that’ll be helpful for later,’ Magnus says.

The interview stage doesn’t take as long, this time. Elsa’s settled nicely into Alec and Shadow’s long-established routine, and Alec’s grateful for the resulting brevity as he sits there, trying not to tug at the navy wool around his neck because he _knows_ it’ll only annoy him more. He’s not a fan of scarves, generally, finding them uncomfortable to the point of mild aggravation. He only owns this one because when they’d landed a run of late shifts last winter, Jace had taken one look at Alec’s bare neck, and – after declaring Alec a _fucking lunatic_ – had turned up for their next shift with a spare. _It’s like fifteen degrees out there, Alec. Suck it up and wear the scarf._  
And yeah, okay, maybe Alec didn’t catch his usual December cold that year. But that’s beside the point.

Magnus smiles, recapturing Alec’s attention. ‘Okay, well, the good news is that you can take off the scarf now,’ he says, and Alec does so immediately, too relieved to care much about his apparent transparency.

Then, Magnus holds out his hand, and Alec – a little confused, but not displeased – takes it, getting to his feet. ‘So what’s next?’ he asks.  
‘Well, firstly, I need that scarf.’  
Magnus holds his hand out expectantly, exactly as he did a few moments ago, and unfortunately the ground refuses Alec’s silent plea to swallow him up. Instead, he’s left standing on the traitorous thing, feeling his face turn scarlet as he wordlessly thrusts the scarf into Magnus’ waiting palm.  
‘Thank you,’ Magnus says – and he pauses for just a moment, before reaching out with his free hand and taking Alec’s again. Alec looks up in surprise, and discovers that it’s very difficult to stay embarrassed when Magnus fixes him with _that_ smile – the one that makes him feel completely understood, and looks merely a breath away from laughter; but seems to promise to laugh _with_ him, never _at_ him.

‘Come on,’ Magnus says, and he pulls Alec over to the observation window, only then letting go of his hand.

Alec stares, a little bewildered and a lot impressed. Inside the gymnasium is a veritable _labyrinth,_ which stretches from wall to wall and appears to be constructed from a combination of cardboard boxes, Pokémon agility equipment (tunnels, ramps, even a damn _seesaw),_ and long swathes of fine netting. ‘Did you build this?’ he asks.  
‘I had some help,’ Magnus says, waving a hand dismissively. ‘So, for today’s practical, we’ll be testing how the imprint affects scent tracking. I will hide _this – ‘_ he holds up Alec’s scarf – ‘somewhere in the maze. We’ll then see how long it takes Elsa to find and retrieve it, relative to the minimum distance she would theoretically have to travel to do so. We’ll repeat the process with my scarf, and see if there’s any difference in her efficiency.’

‘Okay,’ Alec says, and Magnus enters the gymnasium, gracefully navigating the maze as the Murkrow flies, stepping over each obstacle. At first, Alec thinks he’s just being strangely stealthy, but he quickly realises that the microphones in the gym must be turned off, rendering the room soundproof and denying Elsa any possible audio clues.

Magnus tucks the scarf in the center of a tunnel, off on the left-hand side of the course, and then efficiently picks his way back through to his office. ‘Alright,’ he says brightly as the doors _whoosh_ open again. He pulls a small remote control out of his pocket, and with the press of a button a small red laser line stretches across the maze’s entrance. ‘Now, munchkin,’ he continues, crouching down to look Elsa in the eye. ‘You’re gonna be heading in, and as soon as the door closes, I want you to go find the scarf and bring it back here as fast as you can. Happy with that?’  
Elsa yaps, darting forward to lick Magnus’ nose and chin, earning a laugh in response. ‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ he says. ‘Okay, go on then. Your time starts and ends as soon as you cross the red line.’

With one look back at Alec – ‘Go on, you can do it,’ he says encouragingly – Elsa trots into the room. The doors slide closed, and a flash of movement later, she enters the maze.

Six successful scarf hunts later – three times with Alec’s scarf, three times with Magnus’ – they’re all back in the office again, Elsa enjoying a well-deserved berry while Magnus quickly reviews the data.  
‘She did pretty well, I thought,’ Alec says, not bothering to hide how proud he is. Elsa completed the course faster than he would have thought possible, seeing how intricate it was and how well Magnus hid the scarves each time.  
‘Well, I can neither confirm nor deny while the experiment is in progress,’ Magnus insists, but he shoots Alec a smile, which Alec takes as confirmation of Elsa’s apparent prowess.

Oh, god. He’s just realised that he’s going to be an _unbearable_ parent.

‘All right,’ Magnus says, a few moments later. ‘That’s everything for today.’ He pushes away from the desk and gets to his feet.  
Alec does the same, still lost in thoughts of school science projects and future boasting as he winds the scarf loosely around his neck. ‘So, same time next week?’ he asks absently.  
‘Yes, that should – oh. Alexander,’ Magnus says, recapturing Alec’s full attention. He gestures to Alec’s torso, and Alec looks down to see the artfully frayed edges of Magnus’ burgundy scarf lying against his chest.

‘Ah,’ Alec says, chuckling – and then suppressing a wince when it comes out a little high-pitched. God, what is _with_ him today? ‘Sorry about that.’ He quickly sheds the scarf, holding it out to its rightful owner.  
Magnus just smiles. ‘Thank you. Here – ‘ And he steps forward, looping the _correct_ scarf gently around Alec’s neck. ‘Not that I’d mind swapping, but blue’s definitely your colour,’ he teases.  
Alec swallows, his eyes tracking Magnus’ deft movements. ‘Good to know,’ he says. It comes out a little hoarse, and he waits until Magnus steps away again before clearing his throat. ‘Okay. Good. So, same time next week.’  
‘Same time next week,’ Magnus confirms. ‘See you then.’  
Alec nods decisively. ‘Yep, see you then,’ he says, trying to sound cheery. ‘Bye.’

He turns and leaves the lab, only noticing how fast he’s going when Elsa chirrups in complaint and he sees that she’s jogging to keep up with him. ‘Sorry, sweetheart,’ he says, softening a little as he scoops her into his arms. She settles down, and he feels a little more grounded, able to pull himself together, out of the fluster.

He strides from the building with a quick nod to Meliorn. The wind has picked up since he went inside, but the scarf is warm and comfortable where Magnus tucked it around his throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought! I'll try and update a little more promptly this time, heh. ^^;


	4. Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa undergoes the third test. Magnus and Alec get to know each other a little better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It appears I have some momentum back on writing this story. Here are the results of that. Please enjoy. :)

Alec grins. ‘You know,’ he says, ‘I never know quite what to expect when I come to these sessions.’  
Magnus smiles back at him, toeing off his sandals and stepping out onto the huge sandpit that’s covering most of the gym’s floor this week. ‘That’s partly the point,’ he says. ‘The results are fairer if you don’t have a chance to prepare. Though, of course, I’m also glad that you’re enjoying the element of surprise.’ He beckons Alec over, and Alec quickly sheds his own trainers and socks before joining him on the sand. ‘Here,’ he says, reaching into his deep lab coat pocket and pulling out a net full of oran berries, ‘and here.’ He pulls out a small jar from the other pocket, full of tiny, dark stones.

‘The surprises continue,’ Alec remarks, taking the items when they’re held out to him.  
Magnus chuckles. ‘Now, for this next task, I want you to bury those berries,’ he says, mouth quirking at the wordplay, ‘and mark each place – as subtly as possible – with those stones.’

Alec gets to work, rolling his eyes when he glances back at Magnus. ‘Enjoying yourself?’  
‘Immensely,’ Magnus says, his eyeshadow catching the light as he lounges back on his beach towel. ‘I’d offer to help, of course, but it’s important for the task that _you_ know where every berry is.’ He shrugs. ‘Don’t forget to bend with your knees, rather than your back,’ he adds, innocently.

Alec huffs, not all that surprised when it comes out more amused than indignant.

Five minutes later, he’s done. ‘Excellent,’ Magnus declares, leaping to his feet once more. ‘Now – ‘ He reaches into his pocket again, this time pulling out a small garden trowel.  
Alec raises his eyebrows. ‘How deep are those pockets, anyway?’  
‘They do come in handy,’ Magnus agrees with a smirk. ‘Alright. In a moment, I’ll let Elsa in, and tell both of you to find all of the berries as quickly as possible. She’ll be able to smell them, and you’ll know where they are because of the stones. But,’ he adds, holding up a finger, ‘here’s the catch. _You_ will purposefully be digging in all the _wrong_ places.’

‘…Okay,’ Alec says, a little confused.  
‘The purpose is to see how Elsa reacts to your ‘mistakes’,’ Magnus explains. ‘So it’s important that you don’t give anything away, if possible. How good’s your poker face?’  
‘Well, I didn’t come out until my mid-twenties, so I think it must be okay,’ Alec says drily.  
Magnus laughs, and Alec feels a now-familiar warmth curling in his stomach at having caused it. ‘Fair enough, that’s pretty good proof,’ Magnus says, still smiling. ‘All right. Let’s bring her in, then.’

He opens the door, and Elsa comes gamboling in, going straight up to Alec and chirruping at him, pushing into his hand when he leans down to pet her. Lila comes trailing in as well, winding around Magnus’ ankles for a moment before curling up on a corner of the beach towel.

‘Alright,’ Magnus says, his voice turning professional again, even as he takes a seat beside his Espeon. ‘Elsa, Alexander – your next task is to find the oran berries hidden in the sandbox. There are fifteen in total, and the goal is to dig them all out as quickly as possible. Understood?’  
‘Understood,’ Alec says, and Elsa gives a yap of confirmation.  
‘Excellent.’ Magnus pulls out a stopclock, hand hovering over the _start_ button dramatically. ‘Your time… starts… _now.’_

Elsa immediately starts sniffing at the sand, and Alec smiles – she definitely fits in as a Lightwood, with that single-minded focus – before turning to his own empty patch, and starting to dig.

It’s not long, however, before there’s a tug on his shirt, and he looks over his shoulder to see Elsa with a mouthful of the teal fabric. ‘What is it?’ he asks. ‘Did you find one?’ She yaps at him, before pulling on his shirt again; more forcefully this time. He suppresses a smile. ‘You want me to try somewhere else?’ he guesses, and she runs a few feet away from him, past the two berries she’s already uncovered, and paws at the ground.

He nods. ‘Alright then.’ He moves over to her – and starts digging a little to the left of where he knows the berry will be.  
Elsa appears on his left hand side. ‘Hey, shouldn’t you be-‘ He’s cut off as Elsa darts forward, and starts _pushing_ his hands and trowel over to the right. ‘I’m doing it, I’m digging,’ he insists. She whines a little, taking him by surprise when she jumps into the shallow indentation he’s made, digging at the right-hand side of it. She sticks her little snout into the loosened sand and re-emerges with the oran berry, placing it into his hand with a happy bark and a wag of her tail.

Across the room, Magnus laughs. ‘Not to disparage your treasure-hunting abilities, Alexander,’ he calls, ‘but perhaps you should just start digging where Elsa thinks is best?’  
Alec smiles, tilting his head as if in capitulation. ‘Yeah, that might be faster.’ He turns back to Elsa, scritching along her mane. ‘Okay then. Where do I dig next?’

They ‘find’ the rest of the berries quickly – Elsa points him to a spot, running off as soon as he starts to dig to uncover one or two berries by herself, then running back to repeat the process.  
‘That’s fifteen, and time,’ Magnus calls, getting to his feet. ‘Well done, you two.’

  
A few minutes later, they’re sat in the office again, twelve of the berries sat on Magnus’ desk as he types up a few notes. Lila leaps onto the side of the desk not taken up by the berries, curling up and closing her eyes. Alec pulls on his socks and shoes, though he notices that Magnus hasn’t bothered; he’s still barefoot, still has his pant legs rolled up around his well-defined calf muscles. ‘I have to hand it to you, Alexander,’ he says, glancing up with a quick smile before returning his gaze to the monitor, ‘you played your role well.’  
‘Thanks,’ Alec says, realisation dawning on him as Elsa jumps onto his lap again. ‘Ah – I knew where the berries were,’ he admits, feeling a little caught out as Elsa blinks up at him. ‘I pretended I didn’t, for the experiment.’  
He smiles slyly, pulling out one of the remaining oran berries from his pocket. ‘Here. Am I forgiven?’  
Elsa just purrs, taking the oran berry and settling down to munch on it.

Magnus chuckles, looking over at them again. ‘A touch of bribery always helps an apology go down smoothly, I suppose.’  
‘Yeah,’ Alec agrees. ‘My siblings and I used to settle half our arguments that way, growing up. Sometimes it’s easier on your pride to knock on the door with the last cookie and a mug of hot chocolate than it is to actually say _I’m sorry.’_ He smiles fondly at the memory. ‘Obviously, we eventually had to learn how to communicate like actual grownups, but it was a solid tactic for a while.’  
‘Fair enough,’ Magnus says with a smile. ‘How many siblings do you have?’  
‘I’m the oldest out of four.’ He grins when Magnus’ eyebrows shoot up. ‘Yeah, they’re a handful. You’ve met Jace in passing, I think? He and I report to the same station. Then there’s Izzy – who you might have heard of, too, ‘cause she’s the Leader over at the Alicante Gym.’ He reaches into his pocket again as he speaks, handing Elsa a second oran berry. ‘Max is still on his Pokémon journey – he’s only eleven. The last postcard he sent was from Poni Island, if I’m remembering correctly.’

He looks up at Magnus again, and notices his surprise. ‘Something wrong?’  
‘No such thing,’ Magnus assures him. ‘I just remembered something – I’ve met your sister before, I believe.’  
‘Really? Over at the gym?’  
‘No, actually. It was at a party over in Oreburgh City a couple of years ago. Roark invited all the Gym Leaders, you see – and as my friend Catarina runs the Snowpoint Gym, she managed to score invitations not only for myself, but for my then-boyfriend, too.’  
‘Huh. Small world.’  
‘Small world indeed. I knew the name Lightwood sounded familiar, I just couldn’t place it.’

Elsa shifts on his lap, and Alec looks down, rolling his eyes in fond exasperation as she noses at his pocket, where the last oran berry is. ‘Hey, you’ve had two already,’ he chides. ‘You’re not having the third one right now. You’ll give yourself a stomach ache.’  
Elsa huffs, settling back down – but facing away from him this time in a clear sulk.  
Magnus laughs. ‘Sorry,’ he says, trying to stifle it and only halfway succeeding. ‘I shouldn’t encourage her, I suppose.’  
‘Yeah, I would have thought a behaviour specialist should know better,’ Alec says, the reprimand undercut by his own smirk. ‘How’d you get into that, anyway?’  
‘Luck, mostly,’ Magnus says. ‘I was going to take a module on advanced type effectiveness at college, but it was oversubscribed, and I drew the short straw. On a whim, I picked Behavioural Studies as a replacement – and I completely fell in love with it.’ His smile softens a little. ‘I remember about three classes in, the lecturer brought in two Rattata from the same litter for a practical demonstration. Over the course of two hours, he taught them both _focus energy_ – but he did it in two completely different ways, depending on what they responded to. The first one, he took an incremental approach – he taught it what initial stance to take, how long to hold each position, et cetera – and then put it all together at the end. The second Rattata didn’t have the patience for all that. So he used pure repetition instead, calling out notes each time, with lots of food rewards and praise.’ Magnus shakes his head, as if still disbelieving. ‘I couldn’t believe how differently they responded, how tailored his approaches had to be in order to bring out the best in each of them. I actually ended up writing my PhD thesis on the behavioural differences between Pokémon siblings.’

There’s a knock at the door, and the other doctor Alec met on the day of the fire – Santiago, was it? – doesn’t wait for an answer before opening it. ‘Mr Lightwood,’ he greets curtly, before turning to Magnus. ‘Elias says your twelve o’clock is in reception.’  
Magnus’ eyes widen. ‘Shit, I didn’t see his message – is that really the time?’ He hurriedly gets to his feet, switching off his computer screen as he does. ‘Okay – Raphael, could you tell them I’ll be there in a moment?’  
Raphael snorts. ‘Go tell them yourself. I’m not your errand boy.’ He disappears around the corner again.  
‘You’re a terrible friend!’ Magnus calls after him, sing-song.  
‘I’m comfortable with that!’ comes the reply.

Magnus turns back to Alec, rolling his eyes. ‘Ignore him, please. Let me walk you out – Lila,’ he says, turning back suddenly. Lila opens one eye. ‘Don’t eat the berries,’ he warns. Lila closes her eye again, seemingly unbothered.  
They speedwalk through the hallways, Elsa trotting along behind them. ‘I’m sorry to kick you out in such a rush,’ Magnus says.  
Alec just shakes his head. ‘It’s no problem. I’m sorry I distracted you.’  
Magnus flashes him a grin. ‘Oh, don’t be. I’m sure you can’t help being so interesting.’  
Alec’s taken aback for a moment. He’s not sure he’s ever been called _interesting_ before. ‘Well, you’re easy to talk to,’ he says, his mouth ticking up into a small smile.

They reach the reception, and Magnus turns brightly towards the waiting area, greeting the blonde who’s sitting there beside a very young-looking Happiny. ‘Miss Branwell. Apologies for the delay. Please, come through.’ He turns back to Alec, clasping his arm. ‘Okay. So, same time next week?’  
‘Same time next week,’ Alec confirms. ‘I’ll try not to make you late next time.’  
Magnus’ smile widens, and he claps Alec on the shoulder before turning away and leading Miss Branwell and her Happiny back to his office, making polite conversation as they go.

Alec realises suddenly that he’s staring, and turns sharply, leaving before he gets caught.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought ^^ New chapter coming soon! I'm now thinking there will be six or seven chapters total - we'll see how it pans out!


	5. Just a Taste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A berry taste test makes for an interesting morning. Alec wonders if there's something besides friendship between him and Magnus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm almost a little self-conscious uploading so regularly after weeks of silence, haha. I've just been in the zone I guess. Enjoy this longer update.

Wednesday’s shift runs long – there’s been some sort of error down in I.T., and nearly every report from the past few months needs refiling in its entirety. They split the work amongst everyone on shift, and Jace and Alec end up with seven each. Fortunately, the earlier drafts are still available, so remembering the details won’t be an issue; but it’s still a tedious way to spend the last hour of their shift, _plus_ the extra two needed to get the job done. By the time they finish, the sun is just setting and Alec’s way too tired to walk. Thankfully, Jace has a spare motorcycle helmet in his locker, and offers him a lift.

Alec closes his front door behind him and slumps against it with a deep sigh. ‘Okay, we’re home,’ he calls, and Shadow and Elsa appear from the Pokéballs at his belt in twin flashes of red light. He smiles weakly. ‘Hi. I’m guessing you guys want dinner, huh?’ There’s a chorus of enthusiastic agreement, and Alec pushes himself upright, heading into the kitchen.  
A few minutes later, his Pokémon are chowing down on their meals, and he’s lying on the couch, stabbing at his cold pasta bake and thanking whatever deities will listen that he didn’t have to cook tonight.

Alec finishes his food, and looks over to see that the Pokémon are still eating. He’ll wash up once they’re done, he decides. Get it all done in one fell swoop.

  
He wakes with a jolt when his phone starts ringing, the fork clattering around in the empty bowl on his chest, spooking Elsa from her spot between his knees and up onto the opposite arm of the couch. (Shadow doesn’t flinch on his perch. He’s always been able to sleep through anything.)  
Alec winces, rubbing his bleary eyes. ‘Sorry, Elsa,’ he mumbles, glancing at his Caller ID – _Unknown (Alicante)_ – before answering it. ‘H’llo?’  
 _‘Alexander, hi. It’s Magnus.’_ _  
_Alec hurriedly moves the dishes from his chest, sitting upright. ‘Magnus. Hi. Sorry, my phone didn’t recognise the number. How are you?’  
 _‘I’m perfectly well, thank you. Are you all right? Did I wake you?’_ _  
_Alec clears his throat, a little embarrassed. ‘Uh, yeah. Sorry, long day.’  
 _‘No need to apologise. In fact, I should probably apologise for waking you.’_ _  
_‘No, no – I accidentally fell asleep on the couch, so you’re doing me a favour, really,’ he confesses. He’s not a kid anymore, and a night spent on his beaten-up old couch would wreak havoc on his neck the next day.

 _‘All right then,’_ Magnus says, sounding faintly amused. _‘I was just calling – oh, firstly, I’m calling from the lab’s landline, I’d imagine that’s what caused the confusion over the number. Anyway, I just wanted to ask – would it be possible to push our session tomorrow back an hour or so?’_ _  
_‘Yeah,’ Alec says, frowning a little. ‘That’s fine by me. Is everything okay?’  
Magnus’ tone softens. _‘Everything’s fine, Alexander, though you’re sweet to worry. It’s just that tomorrow’s task will be food-related, and if Elsa’s still full from breakfast, I’m concerned it may affect the results.’_ _  
_‘Makes sense. Yeah, that’s fine – I’ll come in an hour later than normal.’  
 _‘Thank you,’_ Magnus says. _‘All right, then. See you tomorrow. Go get some sleep in an actual bed, hmm?’_  
Alec smiles. ‘Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. G’night.’  
 _‘Goodnight, Alexander.’_

Alec hangs up, stretching and yawning. ‘Alright, Elsa. Bedtime.’  
Before heading upstairs, he dumps all three bowls in the sink. If he’s got an extra hour, he can wash them in the morning.

  
***

  
Thursday morning is cold, bright despite the cloud cover, and a damn sight more enjoyable than Wednesday evening. Alec takes things at a leisurely pace, humming along to his current favourite soft rock playlist as he washes up after breakfast, before pulling on his sapphire sweater (Izzy’s term, not his) and his overcoat, and taking the scenic route to the lab.  
He diverts through the park, though he keeps to the paved pathways closer to the edge of it. Halfway across the largest field, between the playground and the outdoor basketball court, he sees a kid not much older than Max coaching their Flareon, pointing wildly upwards as the Flareon stands on its hind legs and directs what looks like a _fire spin_ attack up towards the heavens. It’s an impressive sight, likely meant to wow the judges in a Pokémon Contest. ‘You know, you could do that one day,’ Alec comments, turning to where Elsa is padding along beside him. ‘I mean, not the performance part – well, actually, I don’t know. I bet Izzy would love to have you on her Contest team, if you wanted. But I meant the _fire spin,_ if you evolve into a Flareon. What do you think, wouldn’t that be cool?’  
Elsa tilts her head, slowing down and letting out a low chirp.

Alec frowns, a little concerned. That’s not the reaction he expected. ‘Hey,’ he says softly, stopping in his tracks and crouching down to Elsa’s level. ‘I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m sorry. If you wanna evolve one day, that’s fine – and I can help you get to the form you want. Or, you can just stay as you are. You’re already pretty awesome as an Eevee.’ He reaches out, scritching behind her ears, smiling when it elicits a much happier chirp. ‘No rush, okay? It’s all up to you.’  
Elsa turns her head, butting against his palm in what he assumes is an affirmative. His smile widens, relieved. ‘Okay. Good.’

  
When they get to the lab, Magnus is waiting in reception with a bright smile. ‘Alexander! Perfect timing.’ He bends down to pet Elsa. ‘And hello to you too, munchkin. You ready for today’s test?’ Elsa yaps, and Magnus laughs. ‘I’ll take that as a yes. Come on through, you two.’

The interview portion of that day’s session takes less than twenty minutes, this time, with Alec just giving a few brief updates; how Elsa is old enough to stomach a little sitrus berry now, how she managed to outrun Savannah – Izzy’s Arbok – during their lunchtime playdate a few days ago.  
They chat for a while longer while Magnus updates his notes. ‘You seem much more chipper today, Alexander,’ he remarks. ‘I trust you got a good night’s sleep?’  
Alec nods. ‘Yeah, thanks to you waking me up when you did. My couch is fine for watching T.V., but nowhere near comfortable enough to spend a night on. You’ve saved me a crick neck today.’  
‘Glad to hear it,’ Magnus says, smiling softly. ‘I’d imagine your job is difficult and dangerous enough without forgoing proper rest.’ He finishes his notes with a small flourish, clapping his hands together and getting to his feet again. ‘Right,’ he says brightly. ‘On to the test. I think you’ll enjoy this one, munchkin,’ he comments, winking at Elsa before heading through to the gym.

There’s a low coffee table fairly close to the door, four shiny cloches stationed along it. Three cushions lie on the floor around the table – one on the side closest to them, two on the far side. ‘Have a seat, sweetheart,’ Magnus says, gesturing to the nearest cushion, and Elsa plunks down onto it quite happily. ‘Alexander, if you’ll join me on this side,’ he adds, and Alec steps around the table to take the cushion on his right.  
Magnus takes the other, sitting cross-legged, his knee brushing against Alec’s. Alec fights an unexpected smile at the contact.

‘All right,’ Magnus says. ‘Today’s test is a taste test. Which is a nice tongue-twister, actually – anyway,’ he continues, cutting off his own tangent with a dismissive handwave. He reaches out and removes the cloche from the dish on his right hand side, revealing a small pile of berries, each about an inch wide. ‘First up, we have ganlon berries,’ he announces, smiling at Elsa as she lights up, ears pricked and nose twitching. ‘Go on, sweetheart. Try one.’  
Elsa obliges, crunching through the berry’s blue skin and quickly finishing it.  
Magnus removes the next cloche, which was covering much larger berries, these cut in half. ‘Next, salac berries.’  
Elsa takes one of the berries, gripping the outer bumps between her teeth to drag it towards her, giving the flesh on the inside a cautious lick before contentedly starting to munch.  
‘I’ve never seen either of these berries before,’ Alec says, curious. ‘They look like something out of the exotic fruit section at the market.’  
‘I don’t know about _exotic_ , per se – they’re imported from the Hoenn region,’ Magnus says. ‘But I would say they’re rarer than your average oran or cheri berry.’ He lifts the third cloche. ‘Finally, we have the liechi berry.’  
The liechi berries are much bigger, cut into segments to make them manageable. Elsa sniffs the air above the cloche, and then eagerly bites into a segment – only to drop it a moment later, her ears flat against her ruff, almost shuddering a little.  
‘Oh dear,’ Magnus says, sympathy _just_ overtaking the gentle amusement in his tone. ‘Not a fan of that one? Have one of the others, munchkin. It’ll get the taste out of your mouth.’

Elsa doesn’t hesitate, quickly crunching another ganlon berry.  
‘So,’ Magnus says. ‘I think I know the answer, but just to be sure – which berry was your _least_ favourite?’  
Elsa paws at the liechi dish, letting out a small whine. Alec rolls his eyes fondly. _Talk about dramatic. Maybe she’s been spending too much time with Jace._ _  
_Magnus nods sagely. ‘Yes, I thought so. And your favourite out of these three?’  
Elsa noses the ganlon dish, giving a quick wag of her tail.

‘All right, wonderful.’ Magnus pulls out a notepad, presumably scribbling down those results. ‘That’s part one. Part two involves _this.’_ He reaches out to the fourth and final cloche, revealing a small baked good, which looks to be something of a cross between a poffin and a cookie. ‘This is a very special poffin,’ he explains. ‘When you eat it, it will temporarily affect your palate – not a lot, and not permanently, but enough that it could make a difference to your berry preference. Do you want to go ahead and try it?’  
Elsa sniffs the poffin a little warily, before snarfing it down in two bites.  
‘Excellent, thank you,’ Magnus praises her, setting a timer on his phone. ‘Now, that’ll take a few minutes to kick in, so in the meantime…’ He turns to Alec, gesturing towards the berries, ‘why don’t you try the berries yourself? They’re entirely safe, I assure you.’  
‘I know that, I trust you,’ Alec says simply. ‘And sure. They seem interesting.’

He first reaches out for the liechi berry; if it’s as vile as Elsa seems to think, he’d rather get it over with quickly. He holds up the segment, steeling himself a little before biting into it – and finding himself pleasantly surprised. ‘Oh,’ he says. ‘That’s actually pretty good. It’s kind of like that chilli pepper candy – sweet, but with a kick.’ He smiles at Elsa. ‘Guessing that’s why you didn’t like it, huh? Not everyone likes spicy things.’ Elsa huffs, shooting a glare at the liechi berries, and Alec laughs before reaching for the salac berries.  
‘The skin _is_ edible,’ Magnus warns, ‘but it’s a little tough for human teeth. Be careful.’  
Alec does just that, nibbling at the edge of the pleasantly sour skin, before taking a bite of the flesh. ‘Oh, wow,’ he says, covering his mouth and swallowing the rest of his bite before he speaks again. ‘This is great. It’s kind of zingy, but still sweet. I might have to get some of these.’  
Magnus smiles widely. ‘Glad to hear it. Remind me to show you where I buy them – it’s a bit out of the way, but I do think quality’s worth a little effort.’  
‘Well, I’m all for effort,’ Alec jokes. Finally, he takes a ganlon berry, popping it into his mouth and crunching down.

It wipes the smile from his face immediately, and he almost has to spit it out. ‘Oh god,’ he says, face scrunching up. ‘That’s _disgusting.’_  
Magnus has the audacity to _laugh_ at him, the sadist. ‘Wow, don’t hold back, Alexander. Tell that berry what you _really_ think.’  
Alec summons all of his considerable willpower, swallowing down the rest of the berry and sticking his tongue out reflexively. ‘I’m serious,’ he insists. ‘That’s awful. It’s like… concentrated white wine, or something.’  
Magnus laughs again, a little shocked-sounding this time. ‘You don’t like white wine?’  
Alec shakes his head, quickly biting into another salac half to cleanse his palate of that awful bitterness. ‘White wine, red wine, beer, spirits – pretty much anything that actually tastes of alcohol. Izzy makes fun of me for it, says I drink like a teenager at a house party. _All sugar, no sophistication,’_ he says, mockingly.

Magnus is still grinning, but his brow furrows a little in sympathy. ‘Oh dear. Well, you like what you like, there’s no harm in that.’ He snaps his fingers, eyes widening in apparent revelation. ‘Though that being said, I must make you a round of cocktails sometime. I’ve perfected the recipes over the years, so they’re extremely palatable, and if you like them, they may be a nice alternative to your current alcopops.’ He bumps Alec’s shoulder companionably. ‘Sophisticated, but still sweet.’

But before Alec can come up with a response to that, there’s a tinny, echoing chime.  
‘Ah!’ Magnus says, pulling his phone out of his pocket. ‘Time’s up. The poffin should have kicked in by now. Ready to give those berries another try, munchkin?’

  
This time, with the poffin in effect, Elsa favours the salac berry – though she still hates the liechi. Magnus makes a note of the change, and Alec helps him carry the cloches back into his office.  
‘Casper, Lila!’ Magnus calls. Lila appears from the Pokéball on Magnus’ desk. Casper appears out of thin air, right in front of Alec’s face, and chortles when Alec nearly jumps out of his skin. Magnus rolls his eyes. ‘Casper, stop winding up our guests and come get some berries.’ He puts the cloches down on the floor, gesturing for Alec to do the same. ‘Elsa, you’re welcome to some more too, if Alexander’s okay with it.’

Alec glances down at Elsa, chuckling when he sees her staring up at him, unblinking, eyes wide and pleading. ‘Go on,’ he says. ‘It’s nearly lunchtime, anyway.’ Elsa headbutts his shin affectionately, before darting over to share the ganlon berries with Lila.  
Magnus turns back to him. ‘All right. So, two things for next week – firstly, would you be okay with going back to our regular timeslot?’  
‘Yeah, that’s fine.’  
‘Excellent. Secondly – does Elsa know _double team?’_  
‘She does,’ Alec confirms. ‘She kind of stumbled onto it, actually. She was running around with Izzy’s Roserade, and it just kind of… _happened.’_ _  
_Magnus raises an eyebrow, clearly impressed. ‘Hm. Well, over the next few days, if you get a moment, would you ensure that Elsa’s _double team_ is well-practiced? We’ll be making good use of it in the next session.’  
‘I’ll find the time,’ Alec promises. Magnus practically lights up in satisfaction, and the butterflies that have taken up semi-permanent residence in Alec’s stomach seem to double their migratory efforts.

They say their goodbyes, and Alec takes the long way home, needing the time to clear his head.  
 _Magnus brushing against him, and the resulting goosebumps._ _  
‘Remind me to show you where I buy them.’  
Bumping shoulders with him companionably… affectionately?  
‘I must make you a round of cocktails sometime.’_

He sighs. ‘What do you think, Elsa?’ he murmurs at the bundle in his arms. A bundle which is currently too busy sleeping off a sugar rush to answer him. ‘I mean, maybe it’s nothing. He’s a friendly guy,’ he continues, regardless. ‘I don’t wanna read too much into things and make it awkward, you know?’  
 _But you also don’t want to miss your shot,_ whispers the more impulsive part of him. _You think a guy like that stays single for long?_

Actually, that’s a good point. Someone that good-looking _(and kind and smart and-)_ surely can’t stay single for long, unless it’s by choice. Magnus hasn’t mentioned a partner, but why would he? That’s not the kind of thing you talk about with a subject in your scientific experiment. Is it?

Alec frowns, sighing again. No. This is ridiculous. He and Magnus are becoming friends, he’s pretty sure. Why risk that for an uncertainty, when he’s clearly too clouded by his own crush to view Magnus’ intentions objectively?

  
After a quick lunch, he gets to work around the house, trying to distract himself.  
And if he makes sure to iron his navy blue shirt – the nice one, a button-up with a smart diamond pattern – well, that could be for anything, right?

  
***

  
A couple of hours after Alec leaves, Magnus is pacing around his office with a clipboard, planning his next session with Lydia Branwell and her Happiny. He knows he wants to continue with another taste-testing while the poffins are still fresh, but he needs to make a few adjustments from today’s setup. ‘Do you think two poffins will be enough to properly line the stomach?’ he asks the room at large. Lila doesn’t look up from her nap, and Casper doesn’t deign to materialise. Magnus rolls his eyes. ‘You two are the worst assistants ever,’ he complains, albeit without any real heat. ‘Fine. Three poffins – Happiny’s whole evolutionary line has a big appetite. Also, I’ll have to switch out the berries. Our little egg is supposedly even more sensitive to spicy food than Munchkin was today.’ He chuckles at the memory of Elsa’s displeased face – not to mention Alexander’s when he bit down on the ganlon berry, his nose scrunching up all adorably-

Ahem. In any case, Magnus decides that the liechi is out. It might be best to pick something a little blander for the other two, as well – Happiny can have sensitive stomachs. Pecha, rawst and aspear berries should do the trick.

He snaps the clipboard closed, and Lila finally looks up. Magnus smiles at her. ‘You’re quite right, my little lilac. Time for lunch.’ His smile widens when he feels hands on his shoulders, cold breath tickling his neck. ‘Yes, you too, Casper. Come on.’

He turns towards the door – and jumps about a foot in the air. ‘Fucking hell, Ragnor! How long have you been standing there?’  
Ragnor gives him an unimpressed look. ‘I’ll stand anywhere I please for long as I like,’ he says, his thick North-Galarian accent adding a healthy dose of condescension to his words. ‘It is my lab, isn’t it?’  
Magnus glowers at him. ‘That doesn’t mean you get to creep on your employees, Professor Peeping-Tom.’  
Ragnor laughs quietly. ‘Well, I had to see if what Raphael said was true, didn’t I?’ Magnus’ confusion must show on his face, because Ragnor just laughs again, strolling in and claiming Magnus’ rolling chair. ‘Were you aware that you were humming, filling out that clipboard? When you weren’t talking to yourself, I mean.’  
‘I was talking to my _Pokémon,_ O wise supervisor. And yes, of course I was aware,’ he lies.

Ragnor hums. ‘Of course you were.’ He leans back in the chair until it bumps gently against the desk. ‘And the reason for your good mood?’  
‘What, you don’t want happy employees?’  
‘Of course I do. I didn’t say it was a bad thing – simply that there might be a reason. A tall, dark and handsome reason, if Raphael is to be believed.’  
Magnus feels his face heat up, but keeps his expression carefully disinterested. ‘Since when do you listen to Raphael?’  
‘Since he knows you almost as well as I do, and seems to think you have your eye on an attractive young firefighter as more than simply a test subject. Now, are you going to keep deflecting, or are you going to tell me about it?’

Magnus sighs, wandering over and closing the door, before leaning back against it. Ragnor would let him put the subject to bed, if he really wanted to insist that nothing was going on. But honestly, if he thinks past the instinctive denial for a moment… he kind of _wants_ to talk about it. ‘There’s not really anything to tell,’ he says. ‘Yes, Mr Lightwood has… a certain something about him,’ he admits, fighting to keep his face neutral. ‘And yes, he’s become something of a friend, I believe. But that’s all.’  
Ragnor hums thoughtfully. ‘And is that all you want? Friendship?’  
 _No, of course not. He’s hot as fuck, and sweet and kind and-_ ‘I don’t know,’ Magnus says. ‘I mean, maybe. It’s possible I like him in… that way. But I don’t know if it’s mutual – hell, I don’t even know if he likes _men.’_ Alec has mentioned coming out, of course, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he's attracted to men. He could be aroace, or trans -  
Ragnor’s snort interrupts his thoughts. ‘I haven’t seen that stop you before,’ he protests. ‘When we were at college, you flirted with whoever caught your eye-‘  
‘Yeah, and look where that got me,’ Magnus mutters.

It stops Ragnor in his tracks, and he leans forward a little. ‘Ah. That’s what this is about?’ he asks softly. Magnus doesn’t answer. He doesn’t need to. ‘Magnus,’ Ragnor continues, ‘I know you’ve had rotten luck with your last few partners. Camille being an especially poisonous cherry on top of that particular cake.’ Magnus laughs, a little sharply, and Ragnor gives him a knowing, slightly sad smile. ‘You’ve got a big heart, and a lot of people are going to try and take advantage of that. But guarding yourself against that sort of hurt doesn’t have to mean building walls around yourself.’ He stands, walking across the room until he’s leaning against the door, right next to Magnus. ‘This fellow you have your eye on – do you trust him? Has he given you any reason to think he’d take advantage of you the way she did?’  
‘No.’ Magnus shakes his head vehemently. ‘No, of course not. Alexander’s not like that. You should see him with his Pokémon – he’s so kind, so… open.’ More than once, Magnus has seen Elsa gazing at Alec with unflinching adoration, and understood completely.

‘Well then,’ Ragnor says, ‘why not give this a shot?’ He lays a hand on Magnus’ shoulder. ‘It’s up to you. Maybe wait a while, let the experiment run its course, and make sure you’re right about him.’ His hand squeezes gently. ‘But at least think about it, all right? Don’t close yourself off from a chance at happiness. You deserve better than that.’ He smirks. ‘And it’s okay to take a risk every now and then, Magnus. If it all goes tits up, you’ll still have us three.’

Magnus laughs, looking down at the ground to hide the slight brimming of his eyes. ‘Has anyone ever told you that you give the best advice?’  
‘You, on multiple occasions,’ Ragnor chuckles. ‘Though of course, it’d be nice if you also _took_ that excellent advice every once in a while.’

He pushes himself upright, and Magnus moves away from the door, throwing him a quick, grateful smile as he leaves.  
He dashes the wetness from his eyes, clearing his throat and looking back at Lila and Casper – who are just looking at him now, patient and calm and curious.  
‘Well then,’ he says, injecting a bit of cheer into his tone. ‘How about that lunch?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do let me know what you thought. We're getting somewhere now!


	6. Risk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A close call has Alec and Magnus reassessing their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I know what that summary might sound like, so spoilers are in the end notes if you want to know the conclusions they draw.)
> 
> This is... not the chapter I thought I was going to write. I wanted a bit of drama - and then once I started writing, _feelings_ happened, relating to my own health issues a couple years back.  
> As mentioned in the tags, everything turns out fine, so this story isn't 'taking a dark turn' or anything like that! But this chapter is perhaps a bit more serious than the Eevee fluff we've had so far, so I wanted to mention it here. I think it still works within the story, and I hope you do too. Please enjoy.

It’s Tuesday morning, and Alec’s heart is hammering in his chest. ‘Was anyone else inside?’ he asks urgently.  
The person who they’ve just evacuated nods, still leaning heavily against Jace as their housemates look on anxiously from across the street. ‘Stevie,’ they rasp. ‘Stevie, she – my Raichu, she spooked and I couldn’t find her –‘  
Alec glances back up at Jace, who nods. ‘Go,’ he says. ‘I’ve got ‘em.’  
Alec heads back inside without another word. Shadow and Klaus haven’t come back down from their surveillance circles to warn of an imminent structural collapse, but he knows from experience how quickly that can change. He has to hurry.

The smoke is thicker now, billowing out from where the chief and Garroway are tackling the source of the blaze in the kitchen. ‘Stevie!’ Alec calls, swiftly checking around the entrance hall, the coat closet, the first bedroom – and finding nothing. ‘Stevie, it’s alright. I’m here to help. Let me get you somewhere safe, okay?’  
He’s about to head upstairs when he spots it – a spark under the nearest couch. He crosses the lounge quickly, kneeling down and giving a soothing smile as he reaches out to the terrified Raichu. ‘Hey, it’s okay,’ he croons. ‘Can I take you back to your friend?’

Stevie clambers towards him, her wariness vanishing as she cowers in his arms instead. ‘Alright, good,’ he says, already making for the front door. ‘Come on, let’s get out of here-‘  
There’s a crack of timber overhead as they cross the threshold, and Stevie yelps in his arms - and then there’s _pain,_ white-hot, searing pain, and the world goes bright around him.

_‘ALEC!’_ _  
_ His ears are ringing, sound isn’t making sense like it should, and he can’t breathe, why can’t he breathe?  
_Raichu,_ his brain supplies dully. _Electric attack-_ _  
_ ‘Alec!’ Vertigo, bright – _sky –_ blond, scared – _Jace –_ ‘Fuck – you’re gonna be okay. You’re gonna be okay, Alec – ‘  
_It’s alright,_ Alec wants to say. _Stevie. What happened to Stevie?_

He hears a scraping noise, realises that Jace is dragging him across the street, towards the evacuees. ‘Where the _fuck_ is that ambulance,’ he says, his frustration obvious – he looks back at Alec, and he grins at him, but his usual cockiness is drowned out by the fear on his face. ‘It’s alright. They’re on their way, just hang on. Here – shit, where is it – ‘ They’ve stopped moving now, and Jace fumbles around in his inside pocket, dragging out a yellow heat-stable aerosol. ‘Sorry, bud,’ he says, and he’s still smiling but his voice is shaking, now – or is it Alec, is it _him_ shaking, because his vision is going a bit weird and there’s a ten-tonne weight crushing his ribcage – ‘this isn’t gonna smell great, but it should help you breathe, okay?’  
Jace’s hands move fast, and there’s a couple of tearing sounds – and then it’s _cold,_ a freezing cold hiss against his chest and his throat, and Alec sucks in air – because he _can_ now, he can breathe and the air still tastes of metal and bile but he takes it in greedily, until the darkness at the edges of his vision merges into black spots – ‘Hey, hey, slowly, alright? In, out. In, out.’

Jace coaches him through a few more breaths, and Alec finally manages to wrangle back control of his right arm, his larynx, clutching at Jace’s jacket and croaking out, ‘Stevie?’  
Jace smiles – and it’s real, this time. ‘You got her out, man. The fire’s almost out, and everyone’s safe.’ Alec settles down in relief, thinks he manages to return the smile.

The medics arrive moments later, and Jace rattles off what happened – _electric attack, full heal, still lucid –_ and all Alec can think is _safe. Everyone’s safe._  
When the mask is strapped onto his face, he lets himself drift away.

***

  
When Alec wakes, it’s to cold sheets and a rhythmic beeping. He breathes in deeply, wrinkling his nose at the slight antiseptic smell, mixed with a sickly sweet overtone he recognises as a Full Heal potion. _Hospital._

He opens his eyes to a white ceiling, lets them drift down – and finds Shadow, perched at the end of his bed, drawn up tall and facing away from him in ‘guard mode’. There’s a shifting next to Alec’s ribs, and he glances over to see Elsa, curled up in the crook of his elbow. ‘Hey guys,’ he whispers.  
The effect is immediate. Elsa bolts upright, eyes huge, then starts whining quietly – and suddenly she’s leaning forward, front paws pressed against his shoulder, licking at his face. Shadow turns and jumps onto the table on Alec’s right, leaning in and trilling softly when Alec lifts his arm to gently scritch the top of his head. ‘It’s alright,’ Alec says, voice gaining strength with every syllable.

‘Hey, look who’s awake,’ comes a gently amused voice from his left. Alec looks over to see a tiny nurse with flaming red hair, trailed by a Chansey.  
He blinks as not even a second later, Shadow is on the left-hand railing, stretching his wings out wide and uttering a harsh, threatening squawk.

The nurse, for her part, gives Shadow a withering look. ‘Every time, really? You want me to take care of your trainer or not?’  
‘Shadow, stand down,’ Alec commands softly, murmuring a few quick words of praise as Shadow returns to his right-hand side – though Alec notices that he doesn’t take his eyes off the nurse.

The nurse smiles. ‘Thank you. My name’s Clary, I’ve been taking care of you. How are you feeling?’  
‘Better,’ Alec says, pushing himself up to a sitting position. The nurse – Clary – darts forward, rearranging the pillows at his back, giving Elsa a quick pat on her mane. ‘It was an electric attack, right?’  
Clary nods, flipping through the pages of the file she’s holding. ‘That’s right. You were brought in about six hours ago, showing mild paralysis and shock after suffering an acute electrical attack. You were given a Full Heal and an oxygenated sedative in the field, and then a standard electrolytic I.V. as soon as you were brought in. Your heart rate’s good, and neither the EKG nor the echo- revealed any abnormalities, nothing that would suggest damage.’ She closes the folder, fixing Alec with a gentle, genuine smile. ‘All in all, you were lucky, Alec. We’re gonna keep you in overnight for observation, and we’ll want to do another cardiac check-up in about a week. But as long as you take it easy for the next three days or so, you should be just fine.’

Alec nods. ‘Thank you,’ he says. ‘My brother, the guy I was with – is he here?’  
Clary snorts. ‘Yeah. I had a hard enough time getting him to leave the room, I wasn’t even gonna try to make him leave the hospital.’  
Alec chuckles. ‘Yeah, he’s kinda stubborn. Can I see him?’  
‘Of course. I’ll let him know you’re awake.’

She leaves the room, Chansey in tow. Not even a minute later, Jace bursts in, looking absolutely ragged but lighting up in relief when their eyes meet. ‘Alec.’ He strides across the room, hovering next to the bed, fingers clutching the sheets.  
‘You okay?’ Alec asks. When he doesn’t get a response, he swallows hard, forcing a smirk. ‘What, were you worried about me or something?’ he jokes weakly.  
Jace laughs – a harsh, barking sound. ‘No, of course not. Why, just because you got electrocuted right in front of me?’ He relaxes just a little, collapsing into the chair by the bed and hiding his face in his hands.  
‘Technically, I wasn’t electrocuted,’ Alec points out. ‘’S’not an electrocution if you live to tell the tale.’  
Jace looks up at him again with a half-hearted glare. ‘Thanks, professor.’ But there’s the beginnings of a genuine smile on his face now, even as he lets out a shuddering breath. ‘Fucking hell, Alec.’  
‘Yeah,’ Alec agrees, softly. ‘You okay?’  
‘Yeah, I’m okay,’ Jace answers – serious, this time. ‘We managed to put the fire out, and all the residents got out okay. You were the only one seriously hurt.’

He sits back in the chair, hands coming to rest across his stomach. ‘I called the station, let them know what your nurse said. The chief’s ordered you to take at least a week off, and Garroway says if he catches you tryna weasel out of that, he’ll deal with you himself.’  
They laugh for a moment, before Jace continues – ‘I called the rest of the family too, let them know you’re okay. Izzy’s driving back from Sunyshore right now.’  
‘She didn’t have to do that,’ Alec protests.  
‘I knew you’d say that, and I told her so. She cussed me out and told me there was no way I was driving you home on my _two-wheeled, open-top deathtrap,’_ he mimics, grinning. ‘She won’t make visiting hours tonight, but she’ll be here to pick you up tomorrow, once you’re discharged. She’s bringing you a phone, too – your SIM card seems okay, luckily, but dude, the rest of it was _barbecued.’_

They talk for a while longer, until Alec feels his eyes begin to droop shut, Elsa a warm weight at his side. He’s suddenly exhausted, and then Jace is shifting the pillows at his back, forcing him to lie down properly – and he’s too comfortable to even complain when he feels a broad, rough hand ruffling his hair.

He thinks he hears, _Get some rest, man._ He also thinks that sounds like a fantastic idea, and so he does.

  
***

  
The next day, it takes nearly an hour to get his siblings to leave. Jace makes him four different kinds of sandwiches and leaves them in the fridge _(That way you won’t have to cook for a couple days,_ he insists), while Izzy has hugged him about twenty-three times since she got to the hospital that morning, and is triple-checking every question she asks. _(You’re sure you’ll be alright on your own? You’ve got my number written down in case it didn’t save on the SIM? You’ll send Shadow over to the Gym if you don’t feel right and can’t call?)_ _  
_ It’s a little smothering, sure. But whether because of his own lingering unease, or just the fright he knows he gave them yesterday, Alec can’t muster much more exasperation than a fond _Go on, get out of here, I’ll be fine. I promise._

Eventually, they do leave, and Alec sighs, sinking onto the couch. Elsa jumps up, staying pressed against his side. She hasn’t gone more than a few feet from him since the accident. Shadow sits on his perch, but he’s clearly vigilant, instead of relaxing the way he normally does at home. Alec supposes that his siblings aren’t the only ones he scared.

He pulls out his new cell – a chunky old lump of plastic that Izzy calls _Ol’ Reliable,_ that she keeps around in case of emergencies. He can’t help but wonder how Ol’ Reliable would have fared against Stevie’s accidental attack.  
The SIM card snaps into the adaptor, and he slides it into place, before reassembling the back of the phone and turning it on. It gives a cheerful little jingle – and then immediately starts buzzing almost continuously, messages from his friends and family coming through from yesterday.

He scrolls through them as quickly as the stiff buttons will allow, deleting as he goes. It’s a little overwhelming, the outpouring of support, but thankfully he’s already been able to update everyone through Jace and Izzy.  
He gets halfway down the list and freezes. _Almost_ everyone.

**  
Yesterday**

_11:54_ _  
**Magnus:** Hi – you OK? I saw a situation on the news just now and wanted to check in._

_12:25_ _  
**Magnus:** Hi. I’m sorry if you’re busy, I’m just getting a little worried. Apparently a firefighter was badly hurt on a call this morning? Please text me back so I know you’re OK._

_13:02_ _  
**Magnus:** Alexander?_

_13:32_ _  
**Magnus:**???_

_14:45_ _  
**Magnus:** Alec please text me back_

_19:07_ _  
**Magnus:** I just watched the latest update, and witnesses are saying that there were two flying Pokémon on the scene. God, I hope it wasn’t you two and youand jacket are both okay. Please just let me know OK?Whenever you get a chance_

_19:08_ _  
**Magnus:** *Jace_

_  
_ **Today**

_08:00_ _  
**Magnus:** Please call me when you get the chance, Alexander._

_  
_ Alec’s stomach twists in guilt, and he hits _call._

Magnus picks up in the middle of the second ring, sounding a little breathless. _‘Hello?’_ _  
_ ‘Hi, Magnus,’ Alec says softly.   
_‘Alexander – ‘_ There’s a muffled sound at the other end of the line, and when Magnus’ voice returns, he sounds a little strained. _‘Thank god. It’s good to hear your voice – I don’t know if you got my texts, but I saw that news story about the firefighter who got injured, and I was afraid it was you.’_ _  
_ Alec shifts a little uncomfortably in his seat. ‘Uh – it _was_ me,’ he admits. ‘But I’m fine,’ he adds hurriedly, ‘I’m completely okay, the doctors said I just have to take it easy for a couple of days and I’ll be back to normal.’

There’s silence at the end of the line for a few moments. Alec is about to check the connection when Magnus’ voice comes again, a little stronger. _‘All right,’_ he says. _‘All right. Well, just – thank god you’re okay. Is there anything you need?’_  
Alec smiles. ‘No, I’m okay. Trust me, Jace and Izzy already did about a week’s worth of worrying before I got them out the door.’

Magnus gives a weak chuckle. _‘Well, I can understand that. I imagine you gave them quite the scare.’_ He clears his throat. _‘All right, well. I’m glad you’re okay. Let me know if you need_ anything, _okay?’_ _  
_ ‘I will,’ Alec promises. ‘See you tomorrow.’  
_‘What?’_ Magnus asks, sounding completely baffled. _‘Alexander, you were_ _badly hurt enough that it got on the_ news. _We don’t need to continue the study tomorrow, we can wait until you’re well again.’_ _  
_ ‘I’m well _now,_ Magnus,’ Alec insists. ‘Yeah, it was scary, but I’m pretty much cleared for life as normal.’  
_‘You said you’re supposed to be taking it easy,’_ Magnus says, a hint of suspicion in his tone.  
‘So we’ll lay off the beep test,’ Alec jokes, before a small rush of _something,_ some emotional response he can’t quite name, leaches the humour from him, leaving him completely serious and maybe a little desperate. ‘Please, Magnus,’ he says quietly. ‘Please, I just – I want to see you.’

Magnus doesn’t respond for a good few seconds, and then Alec hears a sigh. _‘Of course,’_ Magnus says. _‘Of course. You’re welcome anytime. It makes sense that you might want friends around you after all this.’_ _  
_ Alec swallows hard, elation and devastation warring in his gut. ‘Yeah,’ he whispers. _Friends._ ‘So, usual time tomorrow?’  
_‘Yes, but on one condition,’_ Magnus warns. _‘Don’t even_ think _about walking here like you normally do. I’m happy to come pick you up if need be.’_ _  
_ ‘No, it’s okay,’ Alec says. ‘Izzy’s back in town, and she’s already been looking for an excuse to come check in on me. I’ll ask her if she’ll give me a lift in.’  
_‘Alright,’_ Magnus says, seemingly appeased. _‘Well, just let me know if that changes. The offer stands.’_ _  
_ ‘Understood.’ Alec smiles, hating that his heart’s only half in it. ‘Bye, Magnus.’  
_‘Take care of yourself, Alexander,’_ comes the soft reply.

He hangs up, leaning back into the couch with a groan that has nothing to do with his residual aches. ‘What do I do, huh, Shadow?’ he asks, glancing over at the perch. Shadow just cocks his head a little, his gaze still entirely focused.  
Alec sighs, closing his eyes briefly. Try as he might, there’s no denying the curl of bitter disappointment he’s feeling.  
_Friends._ The thing is, Magnus is _right,_ goddammit. Alec _does_ need his friends right now – he knows that he’s fine, physically, but the experience has left him a little shaken and he needs some time to process things. What he _doesn’t_ need is to do something stupid like confess his feelings to Magnus and get his heart broken. It’s been through enough in the past twenty-four hours, what with all the electricity.

Alec snorts at his own tasteless joke, reaching down to scruff Elsa’s mane when she stirs at the noise. No. Jokes aside, he can’t panic and rush into this without a clear head. He’ll go along to the lab, he’ll spend a couple hours in Magnus’ company (which is fast becoming the highlight of each week, romantic or not), and then he’ll come home, eat a goddamn sandwich and think about literally anything else besides his relationship status.

It’ll be fine. After all, there are far, _far_ worse fates than being Magnus Bane’s friend.

  
***

  
Alexander hangs up, and Magnus leans forward at his desk, burying his face in one hand and reaching out blindly to Lila with the other. ‘He’s all right,’ he murmurs. ‘God, he’s all right.’ He’d reined it in on the phone, not wanting to say something in the heat of the moment that he couldn’t take back – but now, he lets the relief wash over him in its entirety. _Thank god. Thank_ god _he’s all right._

He can do this, for now; in the privacy of his office, at no risk of being discovered. Because tomorrow, he needs to pull himself together. _You need friends around you after all this,_ he said – more as a verbal reminder to himself than anything else. Alec sounds shaken, and Magnus will be there for him as a friend. Because this about what Alec needs right now. It’s not about what Magnus more selfishly wants.

  
The next morning, a small silver car pulls up right by the entrance. Elsa springs out of the passenger side, followed by Alexander – who looks remarkably put-together for someone who was in the emergency room two days ago.  
The doors to reception slide open, and when Alec smiles at him, Magnus is helpless but to return it.

‘Alexander.’ He meets him halfway across the room, and pulls him into a hug. People hug their friends, Magnus reasons. Of course, they don’t normally notice how attractive their friend’s shirt makes them look, how the diamond pattern curves over their physique –  
‘It’s good to see you,’ he interrupts himself, pulling back to hold Alec at arm’s length instead. ‘How are you feeling?’  
‘Good,’ Alec says. ‘Yeah, a couple nights’ sleep did wonders. I barely ache at all, now.’  
‘I’m glad,’ Magnus says. ‘If anything happened to you, I-‘ _Nope!_ No, that way lies madness. Fucking hell, this is hard. ‘Well,’ he says brightly. ‘No point dwelling on what might have been, I suppose. Why don’t you come on through?’

  
***

  
Alec is glad he came. He’s only been here half an hour, and his brain is already quieter than it has been in two days. They’ve been talking about the accident – how things played out, how Jace and Izzy reacted – and Magnus has been an absolute godsend, listening patiently and attentively, just letting Alec have this moment of candour after putting on a brave face for his siblings.

There’s a sudden flash of red light, and Shadow appears on the top of Magnus’ filing cabinet. Magnus blinks. ‘Oh. Hello there.’  
‘Shadow!’ Alec scolds gently. ‘You know better than to just pop out like that. I said you could come along _if_ you stayed in your Pokéball; I don’t want us crowding up Magnus’ office.’  
‘It’s fine,’ Magnus assures him, turning to Shadow with a smile. ‘Nice to meet you, Shadow. I hear you’ve been on guard duty.’  
Shadow trills quietly. Alec laughs, a little embarrassed still. ‘Yeah. That’s why I asked if he wanted to come along today, rather than staying at home. He’s been a little antsy since the accident – he practically terrorised the nurse whenever she tried to come near me.’ A thought occurs to him. ‘Actually, that’s a good point for the study – you should probably know, Elsa’s been the same. Less of the ‘guarding’, but she hasn’t really left my side since it happened – as you might be able to tell.’ He gestures down to his lap, where Elsa is still curled up. Normally, by this point in the session, she’s wandering over to chase Lila in circles, or sniffing out Casper.

Magnus hums thoughtfully. ‘That is interesting. It might be worth looking into – seeing how much of that protective behaviour is simply personality-dependent, and how much is a result of the imprint.’ He smiles. ‘Thank you. I’ll be sure to float that idea with my colleagues conducting the other parts of this study.’  
‘You’re welcome.’ Alec glances over at the gymnasium window – it’s bare, today, no fancy setups. ‘So, what’s the task for today?’  
Magnus gives him an assessing look. ‘Alexander,’ he says seriously, ‘we don’t have to carry on with the study today. If you want to, today’s task is nothing taxing on your end – but I don’t mind this simply being a social call. There’s no obligation here.’  
‘I know,’ Alec says, ‘but I think I want to.’ He shrugs. ‘What happened, happened, and I think I want to just… carry on as normal? For now? I think that might be the best thing.’

Magnus looks him over for another moment, but then he nods. ‘All right then. For today’s test, I believe you will need – ‘ he stands up, whirling his chair around in front of him with a flourish – _‘this,’_ he declares. ‘Shall we? Oh, Shadow,’ he adds, ‘I’m afraid you can’t come in, but feel free to watch through the window if you like. Alec doesn’t have to leave your sight.’ Shadow doesn’t reply, just hops to the bookshelf on the opposite wall with one beat of his powerful wings, improving his vantage point. Magnus turns back to Alec. ‘All right. After you, then, Alexander,’ he says brightly. Alec feels himself smile; both at Magnus’ consideration for Shadow, and his uncanny ability to lighten the mood without dismissing the heavy subject that came before.  
He lifts Elsa off of his lap, setting her gently on the ground, and the three of them head into the gym together.

Magnus rolls the chair out to the center of the court, positioning it carefully before locking the wheels. ‘Alexander, if you would take a seat? And feel free to adjust the chair as you see fit.’  
Alec sits down, but doesn’t touch the chair settings. The height is perfect – Magnus is only a little shorter than him, after all – and the lumbar’s fine as is, too. ‘Alright,’ he says. ‘What now?’  
‘Now,’ Magnus explains, ‘I leave, and we let Munchkin do her thing.’ He turns to Elsa. ‘When I give you the signal, I want you to surround Alec with that _double team_ move you’ve been practicing. Do it as many times as you can until I tell you to stop. Is that okay?’ Elsa yaps twice in an affirmative, and Magnus turns back to Alec. ‘Alexander, each time she does, I want you to point at where you think the _real_ Elsa is. Hopefully, with no-one in the room but you two, there shouldn’t be anything to influence your decision. It’ll purely be down to your own observation skills and your familiarity with her.’

Alec nods his understanding, though he smiles a little exasperatedly. ‘Surrounded, huh? Guess that explains the chair. You know, I _am_ capable of turning in a circle when standing, too.’  
‘I won’t hear of it,’ Magnus says primly. ‘You’re supposed to be taking it easy.’ He flashes a smile, and then leaves, Elsa taking up her position.  
A moment later, Magnus’ voice comes through the speakers. ‘All right, Elsa. When you’re ready… _double team.’_  
Alec’s suddenly surrounded by a blurry circle of Eevees, flickering just _slightly,_ like a heat mirage. He leans forward in his chair, pushes off into a gentle spin, and gets to work finding the real one.

  
Over the course of the task, Alec loses track of how many times the Eevee-circle disappears and reappears, how many times he manages to find the real Elsa (not often) instead of falling for the copies (annoyingly often).  
Elsa barks excitedly whenever he makes a guess – right or wrong – and her joy is infectious. Alec’s enjoying the challenge, the game; and it completely occupies his mind, pushing his various worries clean away.

He’s _really_ glad he came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler from chapter summary:  
> Alec decides not to make a rash confession of his feelings while he's still shaken up.  
> Magnus decides that Alec needs his friendship right now - Magnus' own crush can wait until Alec's feeling better. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, please let me know what you thought of this chapter - like I say, this one's a bit personal.  
> (Also, of _course_ Alec's fine already. This is the Pokémon world, Ash gets hit with _'thunderbolt'_ every two or three episodes 😂)


	7. Heal and Farewell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec recovers from the accident, and Magnus has news about the study.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So, I didn't think it warranted a tag, but just thought I'd warn about it here: there's some medical stuff in this chapter. Nothing drastic or gross, just that cardiac checkup mentioned in the last one - which, in my experience, isn't too hardcore a process, but can be a bit daunting and uncomfortable. Especially if your mental health's less than tip-top.

The week that follows is one of repair.

Alec wakes early on Friday morning to find that the peace he found after the lab session has drained away overnight, leaving him with an increasingly familiar bedrock of ‘what ifs’ twisting in the pit of his stomach.  
He knows that Magnus himself was probably part of that peace, his bright presence and kindness lending themselves to comfort. But equally, it was the _talking_ that helped. Having a listening ear, someone he wasn’t afraid of burdening; because from the moment they met, Magnus has only ever radiated strength.

Alec picks up Ol’ Reliable and finds the number for the therapy service associated with the station.  
He’s given a morning phone appointment for the next day, and just the promise of that relief seems to soothe him a little.

After breakfast, he walks a few blocks to the nearest phone shop; where he quickly realises that it’s been a while since he last upgraded, and so now he has _no_ idea what he’s looking for. One of the store’s trainees – who has a Galarian accent straight out of an old _Dukes of Wyndon_ movie, and a face so young Alec’s left wondering if someone’s changed the labor laws – looks up at him and patiently explains that every feature he lists as a preference is ‘standard, these days’.  
Fortunately, they then suggest a model he might like, and the moment he hears the world ‘sturdy’ in its description that’s good enough for him.

That afternoon, he boots up the new device, getting used to the operating system. He’s pleasantly surprised to find that the trainee wasn’t exaggerating when they claimed the camera would be _‘twice as good as your old one, easily’._ He stands at the back door and snaps pictures of Shadow and Elsa playing together in the backyard, including one (frankly _adorable)_ shot of Shadow giving Elsa a piggyback. He sends that one to Izzy and Max. After a moment of consideration, he sends it to Magnus too.

  
On Saturday, he spends forty-five minutes on the phone to Mandy, his new therapist. Talking about the accident – without trying to downplay the disconcertion and fear, for once – leaves him feeling strangely wrung out. But he’s been down this road before, after years on the job, and he knows this feeling. Knows that it’s progress. Before he hangs up, he makes another appointment for next week.

Saturday, Sunday and Monday are also the days that week he has lunch in the park with Jace and Izzy. On Saturday, their smiles are still a little too bright, their words a little too soft and kind. But the familiar lunchtime routine gives them normalcy like nothing else could, and by the time they’ve finished eating on Monday, they’re laughing and bickering and it feels _right_ again.  
Shadow and Elsa improve over those lunches, too. Over the three days, Shadow goes from perching stubbornly on the table, to perching stubbornly in a nearby tree, and then – finally – to napping in his Pokéball as usual, out of the brisk wind that ruffles his feathers and makes him trill his quiet displeasure.  
Elsa runs around much the same as she ever has – chasing Quicksilver’s shadow, running along Savannah’s long back, burrowing into Klaus’ plumage until only her tail sticks out. By Monday, she’s barely glancing back at Alec at all, let alone running back to check on him the way she did every five minutes on the Saturday.

  
On Tuesday, he returns to the hospital, following the signs for the cardiology department. He goes alone – Jace offered to come with him, but the station’s a man down already, and Alec’s not going to make someone _else_ do overtime just so Jace can come and hold his hand through a couple of simple tests.  
The EKG is quick, and – aside from the moment the sticky pads are removed, waxing small circles into his chest and leg hair – entirely painless.  
The echocardiogram is a different matter. Apparently, he’s still carrying some residual aches in his torso, because the ‘gentle pressure’ the doctor promises turns out to be a dull, bruising pain. He grits his teeth and just bears it over his left pec, then down his left side – but when the ultrasound probe is pushed down _hard_ right above his ribs, he can’t help but hiss in protest. _‘Ow._ How much longer?’

If he sounds a little desperate, screw it. He’s laid out on his back, exposed and vulnerable, being slowly and continuously hurt. It’s taking all of his wavering focus to suppress the instinct to defend himself.

‘Nearly done,’ the doctor promises, calmly continuing to stare at the black-and-grey blobs on the monitor which apparently translate into Alec’s insides.  
Alec resists the urge to call bullshit, and leans back with an internal groan, screwing his eyes shut and fantasising about early retirement.

  
When he gets home, early Tuesday evening, he sits at the kitchen table and types out a one-sentence text.  
 _They gave me a clean bill of health._ _  
_He sends it to everyone he feels ought to know, and then turns his phone off, too tired for any well-meant relief or congratulations.

For some reason – maybe because, with the final medical results in, it finally feels like this is over – this is the moment the dam breaks.

_Fuck – You’re gonna be okay –_ _  
\- you were lucky, Alec.  
’S’not an electrocution if you live to tell the tale.  
\- thank god you’re okay. If anything happened to you -_

_Good news, Mr Lightwood – your tests have come back, and you seem to be in excellent health. You’re free to resume life as normal._

He doesn’t realise that he’s crying until Elsa leaps up onto the table, and the tears start to fall on her, landing small and shiny in her mane.  
Alec buries his face in her warm fur and lets himself break down.

  
***

Wednesday is the first day he’s due back at work, and it dawns bright and cold and clear. After yesterday’s relief and the following catharsis, Alec feels about a hundred times better.

The moment he walks into the station, Garroway spots him and stands up. ‘There he is! The prodigal son returns, everyone,’ he calls, and Alec can feel himself turning red as the room bursts into a smattering of applause and a few quiet cheers.  
Maia’s the first to come greet him, slapping him on the back. ‘Welcome back, Lightwood. What happened, you forget that your Pokémon’s supposed to be the one getting into battles?’  
‘Something like that,’ he says with a small smile, somewhere in sincerity between the smirk on her lips and the fondness in her eyes.

Underhill comes next, bearing gifts – specifically, a white box with blue edges, the kind that marks a delivery from his boyfriend’s bakery. ‘Good to have you back, Alec,’ he says warmly. ‘Here – squad all chipped in to get you something.’  
Alec opens the lid, and laughs out loud. The cake inside is cut and iced to look exactly like a massive thunderstone, the lightning cracks in the center forming the words ‘ _WELCOME BACK’._ ‘Thank you,’ he says to the room at large. ‘And I can feel you all hovering. Who wants cake?’

The rush towards him comes as absolutely no surprise. Within minutes more than half the cake is gone, doled out onto the paper plates that always seem to mysteriously appear whenever Underhill brings in one of his tell-tale boxes.  
Eventually, Chief Janet pipes up from the center of the crowd. ‘All right, all right, you’ve had your fun. Everyone get back to work.’ The gathering disperses, and before she heads back to her office, Janet lays a hand on Alec’s shoulder. ‘Good to have you back, Lightwood. You’re on desk duty today, but we’ll have you fully on-call on Friday. Understood?’  
Alec smiles. ‘Yes, ma’am.’

  
The rest of the day passes quickly. Alec gets on with his paperwork, fielding a few more well-wishes and welcomes as people drift in and out. A couple of times, he feels the anxiety start to build again – but he recognises it earlier now, cuts it off with logic the way Mandy recommended to him.  
Near the end of the day, he receives a delivery, and opens up the thick, flexible envelope to reveal a standard-issue undershirt. ‘I didn’t order this,’ he says, confused.  
‘I did,’ Jace explains, shaking his head when Alec holds it out to him. ‘No – I mean I ordered it for _you._ The day of the attack, I ripped your shirt open to give you the Full Heal, remember? Thought you could use a replacement.’  
Alec faintly remembers that, he thinks – the sound of tearing, barely noticed at the time because in the next moment he was able to _breathe_ again.

He suppresses a smile, instead putting on an expression of complete indignation. ‘You just tore it? I’ve had that shirt since I graduated from basic training. That was my lucky shirt, you asshole.’  
Jace rolls his eyes. ‘Sorry for saving your life,’ he says, doing a much worse job of hiding his own smile. ‘Anyway, if that’s true, it was shit at its job. I don’t know how you define ‘lucky’, but I woulda thought ‘not being struck by lightning’ is the bare minimum.’

Alec gives in, smirkling as he tucks the new shirt into his bag.  
It’s good to be back.

  
***

  
At the lab the next day, something new happens after the weekly interview. ‘Munchkin,’ Magnus says, opening the door to the gym, ‘would you mind heading in here for a few moments? Casper and Lila would keep you company, I’m sure.’  
Elsa jumps down from where she was climbing Alec’s shoulders, nuzzling at his hair – she’d been doing it all night as well, and he was beginning to think that the new shampoo he bought might have to be a one-time purchase – and happily trots into the gym, Casper and Lila at her heels as Magnus closes the door behind them. ‘Now, Alexander,’ he continues, returning to his chair and handing Alec a clipboard and a pen. The paper on the clipboard is blank, other than a list of the numbers 1-12 down the left-hand side. ‘Today’s test is dedicated to something we’ve touched on a little before,’ he says. ‘On each line, I want you to write down three things about yourself and your life – one truth, and two lies. We’ll be testing whether or not Elsa can tell the difference, so make sure they’re things she wouldn’t know about.’

Alec picks up the pen and starts writing, the scratching sound loud in their easy silence. The first couple of facts (and their corresponding falsehoods) come easy. The next few take a bit more thought. By the time he reaches number twelve, he feels a little like he’s scraping the bottom of the barrel, but at least he’s done.

Magnus leads him into the gym, and Elsa bounds towards them with an excited yap. ‘Well hello again,’ Magnus says, smiling. ‘Now then – Alexander, would you give me a hand?’ He gestures over to the wall, where there stands a table with three upturned bowls on top of it – one red, one yellow, and one blue. Alec hurries over to lend a hand, and they move the table away from the wall and into the court. Magnus pulls over the accompanying chair and tucks it in on the side closest to the office.  
He opens the door again. ‘Alright. Lila, Elsa, if you would just wait in there for a while?’  
Alec frowns a little in confusion. ‘Don’t you mean Casper? Isn’t Elsa gonna be the one I’m telling these facts?’  
‘Of course,’ Magnus says, shutting the door behind Lila and Elsa, ‘but first, we need a more objective participant – that is, a Pokémon who _hasn’t_ imprinted on you.’ He leans forward, lowering his voice conspiratorially. ‘I would have asked Lila – as an evolved form of Eevee, she’d be the fairer comparison – but she’s also a Psychic-type, and I don’t put it past her to cheat in order to ‘win’.’  
Alec grins. ‘Makes sense.’ He nods over to the table, where Casper is already hovering opposite the chair. ‘What’s with the bowls?’

Magnus’ face lights up and he strides over to the table – he’s the very image of an excited teacher, about to deliver a lecture on his favourite topic. It’s unexpectedly charming. ‘The bowls are how you will differentiate between the options, and how Casper and Elsa with give their answers,’ he explains. ‘For example – ‘ He faces Casper, placing his hand on the red bowl. ‘My nails are unpainted today.’ He moves to the yellow bowl. ‘My nails are painted gold.’ The blue bowl. ‘My nails are painted black.’

He retrieves his hand – black nail polish and all – and Casper obligingly reaches out and taps the blue bowl.  
‘I think you may have given the game away on that particular one,’ Alec points out.  
Magnus chuckles, walking over to the door and leaning next to it, gesturing for Alec to take a seat. ‘Remember to make a note of how many Casper gets right, but don’t let on until the end. We don’t want him _learning_ how to read you over the course of the questions,’ he says. ‘Shall we begin?’

Alec sits, setting his clipboard on the table. He looks Casper in the eyes and relays the first line, tapping a different bowl for each statement. ‘I’ve been to Kanto. I’ve been to Johto. I’ve been to Hoenn.’  
Casper assesses him for a moment, before tapping the yellow bowl. Alec starts a tally for right answers.  
‘If only one of those is true, I’d highly recommend visiting the other two,’ Magnus comments idly. ‘The world is your oyster, Alexander, and there’s a lot of shell to see.’

Alec smiles, moving on to the next line. ‘I dated a girl called Jessica Hawkblue in college. I’ve never won a gym battle. My kindergarten teacher was called Mr Davis.’ Casper taps the red bowl. Alec starts a tally for wrong answers. ‘The scar on my left hip is Jace’s doing. I once saw a legendary Pokémon. I was once turned away from a rollercoaster for being too tall.’

All in all, Casper gets four out of twelve right. Magnus raises an eyebrow, impressed. ‘That’s the same proportion as if he were guessing at random,’ he says. ‘It would seem you’re quite the liar, Alexander. If that _is_ your real name.’  
‘Guess you’ll never know,’ Alec teases. ‘But yeah – oldest sibling, remember? Think it comes with the territory. Sometimes it’s the only way to keep people out of your business.’  
‘Ah, of course.’

When they bring in Elsa, she gets seven right.  
They head back into the office, and Alec squints down at her, a little suspicious. ‘Is this how you knew about that mild poffin? The one I was hiding away as a surprise dessert?’  
Elsa just blinks up at him, eyes wide and innocent.

Magnus sits at his desk once more, making a note of how many truths each Pokémon was able to spot. ‘Alexander,’ he says, ‘no matter which of those facts were actually true, I think it’s fair to say you’re even more interesting than I thought.’  
Alec shakes his head at the flattery, but can’t quite stop his smile.  
‘I don’t suppose you’d tell me which options _were_ true?’ Magnus continues. ‘I have to admit, I’m curious.’  
‘What would be the fun in that?’ Alec says, putting on an air of indifference.  
Magnus looks over at him then. Amusement suits him, the crinkles at the corners of his eyes seeming to make them practically sparkle, and Alec has to remind himself to focus. ‘Not even _one?’_ Magnus wheedles.

Alec takes a moment to wonder how the hell Magnus manages to dissolve his willpower with nothing but his gaze, before sighing and giving in. ‘I really was turned away from a rollercoaster for being too tall,’ he admits.  
Magnus looks absolutely delighted, which is worth any amount of lost pride. ‘Seriously?’ Magnus says, half-laughing. ‘What happened?’

‘It was Max’s tenth birthday,’ Alec explains. ‘He was about to go on his journey, and so the four of us went to the amusement park – sort of a goodbye trip, you know?’ Magnus nods, seemingly enraptured now, as though Alec’s story is one of those epic fantasy tales Izzy’s always raving about. ‘Well, Jace and Izzy were on this one ride, the kind that lifts you up to the top of a tower and then just… _drops_ you. I didn’t really want to lose my lunch that way, and Max was too short for it, so we went off to queue for another ride instead - this ghost train, where they give you a laser tag blaster, and the idea is to shoot as many of the mummies or monsters or whatever as you can. So, we queue for god knows how long, and we get to the front, and the attendant kind of gives me a funny look and says _‘Sir, this ride’s really meant for kids.’_ I explained I was going with my brother – she asks how tall I am, and then informs me that if I go on, there’s a very real possibility I’m gonna hit my head on some of the set pieces.’  
‘Oh dear,’ Magnus says, laughing. ‘So Max had to go on his own?’  
‘Yeah, but I don’t think he minded too much. Everyone else was paired off, so he was the only one who got the left- _and_ right-hand-side targets. He racked up a high score.’

Magnus laughs again.  
 _He’s beautiful._

The thought comes out of nowhere, and the moment it does, Alec’s good mood deflates. For fuck’s sake, he’s already had this conversation with himself. Magnus is his friend and Alec’s not going to do anything to jeopardise that, not while he knows his emotional judgement is still clouded. ‘So,’ he says, forcing a smile back onto his face. ‘If that’s everything, shall we say same time next week?’  
Magnus hesitates. ‘Actually… next week’s a bit different,’ he says, his own smile dimming. ‘You see, it’s our last session.’

‘…Oh,’ Alec says. He only sounds mildly disappointed, which is good, because he _feels_ like one of life’s great paradigms has just shifted under his feet.  
‘There are only six tests,’ Magnus explains, and suddenly Alec’s not sat opposite his friend, but a consummate professional. The change is more than a little jarring. ‘Quite normal for such a large-scale study, as it allows for better replication of results. So next week is more of a… wrap-up, I suppose; it shouldn’t take as long, so I was thinking perhaps you could come in a half-hour later?’ His tone regains a hint of humour. ‘Have a lie-in, maybe.’

Alec tries to smile at the joke. ‘Yeah, sounds good to me.’ He stands, a little abruptly, because if he stays he just _knows_ he’s gonna say something stupid like how much he’s going to miss these sessions, how knowing he’s going to see Magnus has become the highlight of his week – ‘So – hm. I’ll see you next week, I guess,’ he says brightly, turning on his heel and heading for the door.  
His false cheer lasts until he leaves the building, and then he lets himself fall into his swirling thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nearly there now! Thanks so much for reading this chapter. I kind of struggled with it if I'm honest, so if you liked it, I'd doubly appreciate you letting me know! ^^  
> (p.s. - The 'piggyback' photo is based on [this piece of fanart](http://rebloggy.com/post/pokemon-eevee-kanto-sinnoh-gen-1-gen-4-staraptor/87492922642) I stumbled across when googling 'Staraptor'. Thanks for suggesting I include it, ralf! ^^)


	8. Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the last week of the study, Alec and Magnus each have a decision to make.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I hope you enjoy this last chapter - especially you, ColorfulWarlock ^^ <3

‘So,’ Raphael says, pushing aside his now-empty wine glass. ‘It’s the final week of your imprint study, right?’  
Magnus nods, smiling a little as the speakers above the bar start playing an old rock song he remembers from his college years. ‘Yes, these are the last few days of the first phase.’  
Raphael sits back with a self-satisfied expression. ‘So does this mean you’re going to stop being a coward and finally ask out the damned fireman?’  
The smile is wiped from Magnus’ face.  
‘Raphael,’ Ragnor says, frowning in reprimand.  
‘What?’ Raphael challenges. ‘Surely you agree that he should?’  
‘I intended to bring it up at a later point in the evening,’ Ragnor says wearily. ‘When he’d wound down a little. Not when he’s barely touched his first martini.’  
‘I’m sorry, do I need to be here for this conversation?’ Magnus snipes, the intended humour completely deflated by the spike of angst in his stomach.

Ragnor rolls his eyes, and Raphael’s face clears into boredom; their respective versions of showing sincere remorse. ‘Ideally, no,’ Ragnor says. ‘You _should_ be spending a night out with your _Alexander,_ not drinking with us and mooning over him.’  
‘I am _not_ _‘_ mooning over him’,’ Magnus protests, scowling a little as he throws back the rest of his drink, olive included. ‘And he’s not _my_ Alexander,’ he says, softening his voice in a futile attempt to hide the hint of bitterness.  
‘But he _could_ be,’ Raphael points out. ‘You know I hate to inflate your ego beyond its already incredible bounds, but do you honestly think he’d say no?’

‘It’s not that I’m worried he’d say no,’ Magnus lies. ‘It’s that the timing is wrong.’  
‘Sometimes there is no ‘right time’, Magnus,’ Ragnor says gently.  
‘Maybe not,’ Magnus allows. ‘But I’m fairly certain there’s a _better_ time than when he’s still getting over a near-death experience, and when I’m about to ask him to participate in a follow-up study in six months’ time. Do you realise how awkward those sessions will be if he’s coming back after rejecting my advances?’  
Raphael frowns a little. ‘Firstly, I thought you weren’t worried he was going to say no. Secondly – aren’t they using Dr Rivera’s group in Sandgem for the follow-up sessions?’  
‘They were going to,’ Ragnor says, pouring himself another glass of red, finishing off the bottle that he and Raphael have been sharing. ‘But due to a recent happy announcement, Dr Rivera will be on parental leave in six months’ time. Professor Oak has therefore asked Magnus if he and his subjects would be willing to take over the follow-up aspect.’  
‘And I have every intention of doing so; preferably _without_ the involvement of my increasingly complicated love life,’ Magnus says firmly. ‘Now, I’m going to go and get us all another round of drinks – and when I return, we will be changing the subject.’  
He stalks off, resolving to make his next martini a double.

When he returns – with a slightly nicer bottle of wine, this time. He’s aware he’s not been the most pleasant company tonight – the subject changes, as he swore it would. For the rest of the evening, Alec isn’t mentioned once.

Magnus just wishes that he could stop _thinking_ about him, too.

  
***

Jace sighs. ‘Okay, that’s the third time today you’ve spaced out on us, Alec. Is something wrong?’  
Alec blinks, putting down the remainder of the sandwich that had apparently paused on the way to his mouth. ‘I’m fine.’  
Jace glares at him half-heartedly. ‘Yeah, you keep saying that. I just… don’t think it’s the truth.’  
Alec feels his jaw clench a little. ‘What, now you think I’m lying to you?’  
‘Of course not,’ Izzy interrupts, swatting Jace’s arm. ‘Play nice, children. Alec, we’re just concerned about you.’

For a few moments, there’s no sound except the playful calls of Elsa and Klaus as they rough-and-tumble. ‘You don’t need to worry about me,’ Alec says eventually.  
‘Yeah, well, get used to it,’ Jace says. The annoyance in his tone is gone now, replaced by humour. ‘It’s okay if you’re _not_ okay yet, you know? We just…’ he trails off, gesturing vaguely.  
Alec’s mouth twitches in guilt. ‘I know. I get it. But it’s not the accident, I promise. The therapy’s doing its job.’  
‘Then what is it?’ Izzy presses, albeit carefully.

Alec sighs, running a hand down his face. ‘It’s stupid,’ he says. ‘It’s just that tomorrow is the last day of Magnus’ study.’ His siblings both look a little taken aback, and Alec smiles despite himself. ‘Told you it was stupid.’  
‘It’s not stupid,’ Izzy reassures automatically.  
Alec raises an eyebrow in disbelief, but carries on. ‘I guess I’ve just been enjoying the sessions, you know? He – he’s good company. I like talking to him, and… I’m gonna miss him.’ He shrugs, half-hoping that the casual gesture will detract from the sheer vulnerability of what he’s just admitted.

Jace frowns in confusion, but his tone stays kind. ‘Alec, you can always ask Magnus to meet up with you outside of the study.’  
‘Yeah, I know. I mean, we’re both busy, but I’m sure we could find _some_ time every now and then. But if I want to see him, after tomorrow, I’ll have to make some – some _excuse,_ and it just feels _weird,_ I guess, when we’ve had this – _routine.’_  
‘It wouldn’t be an _excuse,’_ Jace protests. ‘Friends ask to meet up with each other, Alec. Why would it be weird?’

Izzy’s mouth falls open into a surprised _oh_ of realisation. ‘Because he’s not a friend,’ she says, eyes wide. ‘I mean, obviously he _is_ a friend, but there’s something else, right? You _like_ him.’  
It’s not a question, not really. And Alec considers denying it, but… fuck it. ‘Yeah,’ he admits. ‘Yeah. I like him. I have for a while now.’

Jace is staring at him now, too, and Alec feels a little scrutinised. ‘Alright,’ Jace says, a hint of a smile on his face. ‘Are you gonna ask him out?’  
‘No.’  
‘Then what are you gonna do?’  
‘I’m not gonna _do_ anything,’ Alec says. ‘I told you, we’re friends. I’m not gonna risk screwing that up.’  
‘Alec-‘  
 _‘No,’_ he insists. ‘Look, I meant it when I said the therapy was doing its job, but – I’m not _right_ yet. I don’t – I can’t risk it, not when I could still be messed up and making something out of nothing.’

It takes a few moments for Izzy to break the silence again, and when she does, her voice is gentle. ‘Alec,’ she says. ‘I don’t think this is some – _infatuation_ because of what happened to you. Not if you knew you liked him _before_ the accident.’  
Jace nods, pointing at Izzy as if to say _she’s right._ ‘Plus, I can count on one hand the times you’ve told us this kind of thing. If this is something special… I think you gotta go for it.’  
‘If he says no, there’s no harm done,’ Izzy adds. ‘We’re not in middle school, friendships can survive this kind of thing. But don’t you owe it to yourself – to _both_ of you – to find out what could happen if he says yes?’ She smiles. ‘Some risks are worth taking, Alec.’

Alec swallows, his gaze flicking between his siblings – so earnest, two people who have only ever wanted the best for him – and Elsa, running around the field. So strong, now. Joyful like every time they’ve been to the labs together. Vibrant, like everything else (like every _one)_ she’s brought into his life.  
‘Well,’ he murmurs, ‘I guess tomorrow, I’ll find out if I’m brave enough to take it.’

  
***

  
On Thursday, Alec can barely concentrate. Magnus has got to notice how preoccupied he is throughout their final interview, but he can’t help it – he’s been weighing the pros and cons ever since he woke up, coming out on different sides each time, his mind buzzing with possibilities.  
But eventually – in easily the longest half hour Alec’s ever spent in this room – the questions end, and Magnus turns away from his computer.

‘Is that it?’ Alec asks. He’s always a little more aware of the rhythm beneath his ribs, these days, and he can’t help but notice his heart rate increase. Because this is it, this is the moment, and he still doesn’t _know -_  
‘Almost,’ Magnus says – and maybe, if Alec wasn’t so distracted, he’d be able to figure out why Magnus’ tone isn’t _quite_ as bright today. ‘Just one more thing – my colleague in Sandgem Town has fallen pregnant, and will be unable to complete the follow-up planned for their part of the study. So, I’ve agreed to take it over. Would you and Elsa be amenable to coming back in six months’ time, and… doing this all again, I suppose?’

He flashes _that_ smile, the one that makes Alec warm like sunlight; but Alec barely notices. Because he’s still stuck on _do it all again._ _  
_‘I’d love to,’ he says softly.  
And right then, he knows. Because if _this_ is how it feels? If the mere promise of seeing Magnus again, the hope confirmed that they aren’t yet destined to grow apart into acquaintances and forgotten names and _long time no see –_ if that’s all it takes to clear the clouds in his head, then this is _right._ And he can’t let it slip away.

Magnus is nodding, getting to his feet. ‘Well, okay then,’ he says, and he’s still smiling a little as he holds out his hand for Alec to shake. ‘I look forward to it, Alexander.’ (And all of a sudden everything is different, simply because Alec is letting himself _want,_ and _how_ has he never noticed the way his name dances over Magnus’ lips?) ‘In the meantime, don’t be a stranger, hm?’

Alec gets to his feet, but doesn’t take the proffered hand. ‘Uh, actually, on that subject,’ he starts, and there’s _really_ no ignoring his heart rate now. He takes a breath, willing himself to stay steady. ‘Look, Magnus, I… I might be reading this all wrong, and I don’t wanna make things awkward, but – I like you.’ That hangs in the air for a moment, before he unnecessarily adds, ‘A lot.’ His voice drops in caution, but he forces himself to continue. He’s built the barrel, and all that’s left to do is fall. ‘And I think,’ he says, gesturing vaguely between them, ‘there’s something here. And I was just wondering… do you wanna go out sometime?’

  
Magnus looks stunned, and for a moment, Alec is convinced he’s made a horrible mistake.  
But then Magnus smiles, and it’s not the weary, dimmed one he’s been wearing all day. It’s the bright, blazing joy of every time Alec’s been lucky enough to make him laugh; warm, just like the softness in his voice when he says, ‘I would love that, Alexander.’

And Alec knows he’s smiling as well, too happy to care whether it’s his regular smile or the ‘goofy, lopsided grin’ Jace always used to tease him about. ‘Okay,’ he says, ‘okay, good.’ And that’s the understatement of the year, but Alec doesn’t care, because Magnus Bane is going to go on a date with him. ‘When?’ he blurts out, suddenly needing to know.

Magnus hums thoughtfully, a trace of mischief ghosting over his expression. ‘Well,’ he says slowly, ‘I haven’t taken my lunch break yet, and I’m sure Ragnor wouldn’t mind letting me go a little early. You hungry?’  
‘Starving,’ Alec says. It happens to be the truth, too, after his nerves forced him to skip breakfast this morning.

Magnus reaches out again – but this time, it’s to take Alec’s hand in a firm clasp, and lead him from the office. ‘Excellent,’ he says. ‘I know this place that does the _best_ kebabs.’

  
An hour later, they’re sitting either side of a small table in a tiny diner-café, just talking and talking, laughing quietly over the soft music that seems to emanate from the very walls of this place.  
And Alec is so, so happy. Without the sour thrill of uncertainty or the cold clutch of nervousness, all that’s left is Magnus’ sparkling company, and the way the two of them seem to just _click._

Magnus glances over at the half-height table nearby, where Casper, Lila and Elsa are finishing their plate of poffins. ‘I must admit – this is a _lot_ better than I saw today going,’ he confesses. ‘I fully expected nothing more than a fond goodbye.’ He turns back to Alec with an earnest, slightly nervous smile. ‘But you continue to surprise me, Alexander.’  
‘Really?’ Alec asks, a little baffled. ‘’Cause your colleagues seemed so… I mean, they didn’t exactly look _surprised_ to see us heading out together.’ (That’s yet another contender for _understatement of the year,_ of course. Fell practically lit up in glee when they walked through reception hand-in-hand, and Alec swears that Santiago muttered, _‘Finally.’)_ ‘I figured I’d been really obvious,’ Alec says.  
Magnus laughs, ducking his head in gentle embarrassment. ‘It wasn’t you,’ he admits. ‘I may have… confided in them. Regarding you. Specifically, whether _I_ should ask _you_ out.’  
Alec almost chokes on his soda. ‘Seriously?’  
Magnus nods, meeting his eyes again. ‘I wanted to, of course. I just thought – ‘ he huffs out a slightly exasperated breath of laughter. ‘Well. I told myself plenty of reasons I shouldn’t, but it’s never been more obvious that they were meaningless. I was simply finding excuses for my own fear.’ His gaze softens as he refocuses on Alec. ‘Thankfully, it would seem that your courage outweighs my cowardice.’

Alec shakes his head. For one thing, all that talk of _courage_ and _bravery_ flew out the window the moment he made his decision. In the end, there was only one possible path for him to take.  
For another, some instinct within him firmly rejects associating the word _coward_ with the confident, clever man he’s lucky enough to be sitting opposite; a man so unfailingly kind, and more unapologetically _himself_ than anyone else Alec has had the privilege to know.  
But he doesn’t say any of that – not yet. One day, perhaps. ‘I don’t know about courage,’ he says instead. ‘Probably just recklessness. You spend enough time with Jace, it starts to rub off on you.’  
Magnus laughs again, and Alec doesn’t think he’ll ever get tired of being the cause. ‘Perhaps,’ Magnus allows. ‘But regardless of how we got here, I’m certainly glad we did.’

  
They don’t walk back to the lab hand-in-hand – sometime during their last round of sodas, Elsa climbed into Magnus’ lap and then refused to be put down, and so he ends up carrying her all the way back. Casper and Lila seem to take the opportunity to claim Alec in return; Lila pads along close enough to touch, while Casper holds onto his shoulders with a cold grasp, pulled along like a cross between a backpack and a living kite.

They reach the lab entrance, and stop just inside reception. (A room which is promptly empty – Meliorn briefly smiles at them, and then not-so-subtly gets up from his desk, heading into an adjoining room marked _Finance & Administration.)_  
Magnus turns to face Alec with a smile, still cradling a half-asleep Elsa. ‘I had a wonderful time, Alexander.’  
‘Me too,’ Alec says softly. ‘Would you want to do it again some time?’  
‘Of course. After all, I’m fairly certain I owe you a round of cocktails.’  
Alec chuckles, though he feels a slight twist of regret. ‘I’m definitely planning to take you up on that,’ he explains, ‘but I’ve got a run of late shifts coming up, so it might be a little while before I have a free evening.’

Thankfully, Magnus doesn’t seem disappointed. ‘I get it,’ he says reassuringly. ‘We’ll simply have to keep to lunch dates for a while.’  
He passes Elsa back to Alec – and then leans in a little further, pressing a light kiss to Alec’s cheek. ‘So,’ he says, clearly pleased with the blush he’s coaxed across Alec’s expression, ‘…same time next week?’

Alec smiles as Elsa settles in his arms, and barely resists the urge to press his fingers against the phantom touch of Magnus’ lips.  
‘Yeah,’ he agrees. ‘Yeah, that sounds perfect.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End. ^^ I hope you guys enjoyed the ride!  
> This is officially my longest fanfic to date, and the only time other than NaNoWriMo 2013 I've written something that exceeds 20,000 words. It's been a blast to work on, so please do let me know what you thought! <3

**Author's Note:**

> [Find me on tumblr!](https://www.silver-latin-and-salt.tumblr.com)


End file.
